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Section     .^876 

V.3 


EXPOSITOKY  DISCOUKSES 


FIRST  EPISTLE  OF  THE  APOSTLE  PETER. 


BY  JOHN  BROWN,   D.D,, 

SENIOR  MINISTER   OF  THE   UNITED  PRESBYTERIAN  CONGREGATION,    BROUGIITON 

PLACE,    EDINBURGH,    AND   PROFESSOR   OF   EXEGETICAL   THEOLOGY 

TO   THE   UNITED   PRESBYTERIAN   CHURCH. 


EinE  AE  'O   KTPI02-   2IMnN,   SIMON  .   .   .  2T  nOTK  EniSTPE'^-AS 
2THPI50N  TOTS  AAEA*OT2  20T.  — AOTK.   KB'  A«'  //3'. 


IN     THREE     VOLUJklES. 
VOL.     III. 


THIRD    EDITION. 


EDINBURGH: 
WILLIAM    OLIPHANT    AND    CO. 

186  6. 


PRIMTKD   BY   MURRAY  XSD    GIBB 

FOR 

WILLIAM     OLIPHANT    AND    CO.,     EDINBURGH. 

HAMILTON,  ADAMS,  AND  CO.,     .      .      .      LONDON. 

M'GLASHAN  AND  GILL, DUBLIN. 

DAVID  ROBERTSON, GLASGOW. 


CONTENTS. 


I.  ORDER  AND  OUTLINE  OF  DISCOURSES. 


DISCOURSE  XVII. 

EXHORTATION  TO  HOLINESS  BASED  ON  THE  ATONEMENT. 

Chapter  iv.  1-6,  pp.  1-69. 

Part  I.  The  basis  of  tlie  exhortation,  page  10.  Part  II.  The  exhorta- 
tion, 12.  §  1.  The  particular  object  to  be  sought ;  negative — posi- 
tive, 12.  (1.)  Negative,  "  not  to  live  to  the  lusts  of  men,"  12.  (2.) 
Positive,  "  To  live  to  the  will  of  God,"  17.  §  2.  The  means  for  obtain- 
ing the  practical  object ;  the  arming  themselves  with  the  thought, 
"He  that  suffered  in  the  flesh  hath  ceased  from  sin, "22.  (1.)  The 
thought  explained,  25.  (2. )  The  thought  viewed  as  referrmg  to  Christ, 
28.  (o. )  The  thought  viewed  as  referring  to  Christians,  30.  (4. )  The 
thought  viewed  as  a  piece  of  Christian  armour — the  instrumental  meaiL? 
of  sanctification,  34.  Part  III.  Motives  enforcing  the  exhortation, 
46.  §  1.  Motive  cb'awn  from  the  character  of  the  course  against  which 
the  exhortation  is  dhected,  47.  §  2.  Motive  drawn  from  the  great 
design  of  the  gospel  revelation,  57.     Notes,  68. 

DISCOURSE   XVIII. 

SOBRIETY  AND  WATCHING  UNTO  PRAYER  ILLUSTRATED  AND  ENFORCED. 

Chapter  iv.  7,  pp.  70-88. 

Part  I.  The  duties  enjoined  by  the  apostle,  page  71.  §  1.  Sobriety,  71. 
§  2.  "  Watching  unto  prayer, "  76.  Part  II.  Motive  iirgong  to  sobrietj' 
and  watching  unto  prayer  :   "  The  end  of  all  things  is  at  hand,"  81. 

DISCOURSE   XIX. 

ON  THE  MAINTENANCE  AND  MANIFESTATION  OF  BROTHERLY  LOVE. 

Chapter  iv.  8-11,  pp.  89-133. 

Part  I.  The  maintenance  of  brotherly  love,  page  91.  §  1.  The  duty 
explained,  91.  §2.  The  duty  recommended,  97.  Part  II.  The  mani- 
festation of  brotherly  love,    109.      §  1.  Christians   are  to  manifest 


CONTENTS. 


brotherly  love  by  employing  their  property  for  each  other's  good  as 
men,  as  in  ungrudging  hosijitality,  110.  §  2.  Christians  are  to  manifest 
brotherly  love,  by  employing  their  spiritual  gifts  for  promoting  one 
another's  spiritual  edification,  119.  §  3.  Motives  to  these  two  mani- 
festations of  Christian  love,  128.     Notes,  133. 


DISCOURSE  XX. 

DIRECTORY  TO  CIIRISTIAlSfS  SUFFERING  FOR  THEIR  RELIGION. 

Chapter  iv.  12-19,  pp.  1.34-179. 

Part  T.  Be  not  astonished  at  your  sufFermgs,  page  135.  Part  II.  Be 
not  depressed  by  your  sufierings,  141.  Part  III.  Be  not  ashamed  of 
your  sufierings,  154.  Part  IV.  Persevering  in  well-doing,  commit 
your  souls  to  God  under  sufferings,  164.     Notes,  176. 

DISCOURSE  XXI. 

THE  ecclesiastical  DUTIES  OF  CHRISTIANS  ENJOINED  AND  ENFORCED. 

Chapter  v.  1-5,  pp.  180-282. 

Part  I.  Of  the  duties  of  the  rulers  in  the  Christian  Church,  page  182. 
Chapter  I.  The  appellation  here  given  to  the  rvilers  in  the  Christian 
Church,  "  elders,"  182.  §  1.  The  origin  and  meaning  of  the  appella- 
tion, 182.  §  2.  Qiialifications  of  Christian  elders,  189.  §  3.  Of  the 
manner  in  which  elders  were  invested  with  office,  190.  ^  Chapter  II. 
Of  the  duties  of  Christian  elders,  191.  §  1.  Of  the  figurative  terms  in 
which  these  duties  are  described :  acting  the  part  of  a  shepherd  and 
an  overseer,  191.  §2.  Of  the  duties  themselves,  193.  (1.)  Instruc- 
tion, 194.  (2.)  Superintendence,  200.  Chapter  III.  Of  the  manner 
in  ■^hich  these  duties  are  to  be  performed,  205.  §  1.  "  Not  by  con- 
straint, but  willingly,"  206.  §  2.  "Not  for  filthy  lucre,  but  of  a  ready 
mind,"  209.  §  3.  Not  as  lords  of  God's  heritage,  but  being  ensamples 
to  the  flock,  213.  Chapter  IV.  Of  the  motives  to  these  duties,  217. 
§  I.  Motives  suggested  by  the  apostle's  reference  to  himself,  218. 
(1. )  He  was  also  an  elder,  218.  (2. )  He  was  a  witness  of  the  sufferings 
of  Christ,  220.  (3. )  He  was  a  partaker  of  the  glory  to  be  revealed, 
224.  §  2.  Motives  from  considerations  referring  to  the  Church,  226. 
(1.)  It  is  the  flock  of  God,  226.  (2.)  It  is  God's  heritage,  227.  §  3. 
Motives  from  considerations  referring  to  the  office-bearers  themselves, 
229.  (1.)  The  reward  of  the  faithful  Chi-istian  elder,  229.  (2.)  The 
doom  of  the  iinfaithful  Christian  elder,  232.  Part  II.  Of  the  duties 
of  the  members  of  the  Christian  Chiirch  to  their  office-l)earers,  235. 
§  1.  Preliminary  requisites  to  the  discharge  of  the  duty  of  subjection 
to  elders,  244.  (1. )  Conviction  of  the  divine  authority  of  church  order, 
244.  (2.)  Personal  respect  for  those  invested  with  office,  245.  §  2. 
Subjection  to  the  elders  as  teachers,  246.  §  3.  Submission  to  the  elders 
as  superintendents,  249.     (1.)  Siibmission  to  the  eldership  as  a  body. 


CONTENTS.  V 

249.  (2.)  Submission  to  tlie  elders  as  individuals,  252.  Part  III. 
Of  the  duty  which  all  in  a  Christian  church  owe  to  each  other  :  "  Mu- 
tual subjection,"  257.  Chapter  I.  Of  the  mutual  subjection  which 
all  in  a  Christian  church  owe  to  each  other,  269.  §  1.  What  this  does 
not  imply,  259.  §  2.  What  this  does  imply,  261.  Chapter  II.  Of 
the  means  of  performing  this  duty  :  "the  being  clothed  with  humility, " 
2G6.  §  1.  Humility  explained,  267.  §  2.  The  tendency  of  humility 
to  secure  mutual  subjection,  270.  Chapter  III.  Of  the  motive  urging 
Christians  to  cultivate  humility,  271.     Note.s,  279. 


DiscouESE  xxn. 

TWO  VIEWS  OF  AFFLICTION  AND  ITS  DUTIES. 

Chapter  v.  6,  7,  pp.  283-331. 

Part  I.  First  view  of  affliction,  and  its  duty,  page  287.  §  1.  Affliction 
is  subjection  to  the  mighty  hand  of  God,  287.  §  2.  Our  duty  in  afflic- 
tion is  to  "  humble  ourselves  under  the  mighty  hand  of  God, '.'  293. 
(1.)  As  creatures  under  the  hand  of  the  Creator,  294.  (2.)  As  subjects 
under  the  hand  of  their  Sovereign,  rebel  subjects  under  the  hand  of 
their  righteously  offended  Sovereign,  295.  (3. )  As  childi-en  under  the 
hand  of  their  Father,  296.  §  3.  Motives  to  humbling  ourselves  under 
the  mighty  hand  of  God,  298.  (1.)  It  is  a  part  of  the  humility  which 
God  so  complacently  approves,  298.  (2. )  It  is  the  hand  of  God  we  are 
called  to  humble  ourselves  under,  299.  (3. )  It  is  the  mighty  hand  of 
God  we  are  called  to  humble  ourselves  under,  300.  (4. )  To  humble 
ourselves  under  the  mighty  hand  of  God,  is  the  appointed  way  of  our 
being  in  due  time  exalted,  300.  Part  II.  Second  view  of  affliction  and 
its  duty,  307.  §  1 .  Affliction  is  a  state  of  anxiety  and  carefulness,  308. 
§  2.  The  duty  of  the  Christian  under  affliction  is  to  "cast  all  his  care 
on  God,"  310.  (1.)  A  persuasion  that  God  has  power  to  control  what 
excites  our  anxiety,  314.  (2. )  A  persuasion  that  God  will  employ  his 
controlling  power  in  the  best  possible  way,  315.  (3.)  A  persuasion 
that  he  will  employ  his  controlling  power  in  the  best  possible  way  for 
us,  315.  §  3.  The  motive  to  casting  our  care  on  God  is,  that  he  cares 
for  us,  318.     Notes,  329. 


DISCOUESE  XXIII. 

THE  christian's  GREAT  ENEMY  ;    HIS  DUTY  IN  REFERENCE  TO  HIM,   AND 
HIS  ENCOURAGEMENT  TO  DISCHARGfe  IT. 

Chapter  v.  8-11,  pp.  332-394. 

Part  I.  The  Christian's  great  enemy,  page  335.  Chapter  I.  TVIio  is 
he?  The  Devil,  336.  Chapter  II.  What  is  he?  338.  §  1.  He  is  an 
adversary,  their  adversary,  338.  §  2.  He  is  a  subtle  adversary,  340. 
§  3.  He  is  an  active  adversary,  342.  §  4.  He  is  a  cruel  adversary,  344. 
§  5.  He  is  a  powerful  adversary,  345.     Part  II.  The  Christian's  duty 


1  CONTENTS. 

in  reference  to  his  great  enemy,  349.  Chapter  1.  What  lie  must  do 
to  his  great  enemy  :  Resist  him,  349.  §  1.  He  must  resist  his  attacks 
on  himself,  350.  §  2.  He  must  resist  his  attacks  on  the  Christian 
cause,  352.  Chapter  II.  What  the  Christian  is  to  do  that  he  may 
resist  his  great  enemy,  354.  §  1.  He  must  be  sober,  355.  §  2.  He 
must  be  vigilant,  358.  §  3.  He  must  be  stedfast  in  the  faith,  360. 
Part  III.  The  Christian's  encouragement  to  perform  his  duty  in  refer- 
ence to  his  great  enemy,  363.  Chapter  I.  The  encouraging  fact :  all 
the  brotherhood  have  sustained  and  surmounted  this  struggle,  363. 
Chapter  II.  The  faithful  promise,  367.  §  1.  The  encouragement  con- 
tained in  the  promise  itself,  369.  (1.)  They  shall  be  made  perfect,  370. 
(2.)  They  shall  be  established,  372.  (3.)  They  shall  be  strengthened, 
372.  (4.)  They  shall  be  settled,  373.  (5.)  He  who  does  all  this  for 
them  is  God,  376.  §  2.  The  encouragement  contained  in  the  adjuncts 
of  the  promise,  379.  (1.)  The  God  who  has  promised  this  is  "the  God 
of  all  grace,"  379.  (2.)  This  God  of  all  grace  has  "called"  the  Chris- 
tian "in  Christ  Jesus,"  382.  (3.)  The  God  of  all  grace  has  called 
Christians  to  his  eternal  glory,  384.  (4. )  The  afflictions  are  moderate 
in  degree,  short  in  duration,  and  form  a  part  of  the  divine  plan  for 
their  ultimate  salvation,  387.     Part  IV.  Conclusion,  390. 


DISCOUESE   XXIV. 

POSTSCRIPT  OF  THE  EPISTLE. 

Chapter  v.  12-14,  pp.  395-420. 

Part  I.  Recapitulation,  page  397.  Chapter  I.  The  subject  of  the 
Epistle,  398.  §  1.  The  grace  of  God,  398.  §  2.  The  Christian's  duty 
in  reference  to  this  grace :  "  to  stand, "  400.  Chapter  II.  The  form  of 
the  Epistle,  402.  It  is  a  testimony  and  exhortation  respecting  the  grace 
of  God,  402.  Chapter  III.  The  mode  of  the  writing  or  transmission 
of  the  Epistle,  406.  Part  II.  The  sahitation,  409.  §  1.  The  saluta- 
tion of  the  church  in  Babylon,  409.  §  2.  The  salutation  of  Marcus, 
412.  Part  III.  Exhortation,  413.  Part  IV.  Benediction,  415. 
Notes,  419. 


II.  TABLE  FOR  FINDING  OUT  THE  EXPOSITION  OF  ANY 
VERSE  OR  CLAUSE  OF  THE  EPISTLE  IN  THIS  VOLUME. 

CHAPTER   IV. 

Ver. 

1.  Forasmuch  then  as  Christ  hath  suffered  for  us  in  the  flesh,  10  ;  arm 

yourselves  likewise  with  the  same  mind,  22;  for  he  that  hath  suffered 

2.  in  the  flesh  hath  ceased  from  sin,  24  ;  that  he  no  longer  should  live 
the  rest  of  the  time  in  the  flesh  to  the  lusts  of  men,  12  ;  but  to  the 


CONTENTS. 


Ver. 

3.  will  of  God,  17.  For  the  time  past  of  our  life  may  suffice  us,  54  ; 
to  have  wi-ought  the  will  of  the  Gentiles,  48  ;  when  we  walked  in 
lasciviousness,  lusts,  excess  of  wine,  revellings,  banquetings,  and 

4.  abominable  idolatries,  48 ;  wherein  they  think  it  strange  that  j^e  run 
not  with  them  to  the  same  excess  of  riot,  speaking  evil  of  you,  49; 

5.  who  shall  give  account  to  him  that  is  ready  to  judge  the  qviick 

6.  and  the  dead,  51.  Foi",  for  this  cause  was  the  gospel  also  preached 
to  them  that  are  dead,  57;  that  they  might  be  judged  according  to 
men  in  the  flesh,  60  ;  but  live  according  to  God  in  the  spirit,  61 ; 

7.  But  the  end  of  all  things  is  at  hand;  81  ;  be  ye  therefore  sober,  71 ; 

8.  and  watch  unto  prayer,  76  ;  and  above  all  things  have  fervent 
charity  among  yourselves,  91;  for  charity  shall  cover  the  multitude 

9.  of  sins,  97.     Use  hospitality  one  to  another  without  grudging,  110. 

10.  As  every  one  hath  received  the  gift,  even  so  minister  the  same  one 
to  another,  119  ;  as  good  stewards  of  the  manifold  grace  of  God, 

11.  128.  If  any  man  speak,  let  him  speak  as  the  oracles  of  God  ;  if 
any  man  minister,  let  him  do  it  as  of  the  ability  that  God  giveth, 
121  ;  that  God  in  all  things  may  be  glorified  through  Jesus  Christ, 
129;  to  whom  be  praise  and  dominion  for  ever  and  ever.  Amen,  130. 

12.  Beloved,  think  it  not  strange  concerning  the  fiery  trial  which  is  to 

13.  try  you,  as  if  some  strange  thing  happened  unto  you,  135;  biit  re- 
joice, inasmuch  as  ye  are  partakers  of  Christ's  suiferings,  141  ;  that 
when  his  glory  is  revealed,  ye  may  be  glad  also  with  exceeding 

14.  joy,  145.  If  ye  be  reproached  for  the  name  of  Christ,  149  ;  happy 
are  ye,  149  ;  for  the  Spirit  of  God  and  of  glory  resteth  upon  you, 
150  ;  on  their  part  he  is  evil  spoken  of,  but  on  your  part  he  is  glo- 

15.  rifled,  151.  But  let  none  of  you  sufi'er  as  a  murderer  or  as  a  thief, 
or  as  an  evil-doer,  154  ;  or  as  a  busybody  in  other  men's  matters, 

16.  155.     Yet  if  any  man  suffer   as  a  Christian,  159 ;  let  him  not  be 

17.  ashamed,  161  ;  but  let  him  glorify  God  on  this  behalf,  161.  For 
the  time  is  come  that  judgment  must  begin  at  the  house  of  God, 
165  ;  and  if  it  first  begin  at  us,  what  shall  the  end  be  of  them  who 

18.  obey  not  the  gospel  of  God  ?  170.  And  if  the  righteous  scarcely  be 
saved,  167  ;  where  shall  the  ungodly  and  the  sinner  appear  ?  171. 

19.  Wherefore,  let  them  that  suffer  according  to  the  will  of  God,  167  ; 
commit  the  keeping  of  their  souls  to  him,  168  ;  in  well-doing,  172  ; 
as  unto  a  faithful  Creator,  169. 


CHAPTER  V. 

1.  The  elders  which  are  among  you,    182  ;  I  exhort,  who  am  also  an 

elder,  218  ;  and  a  witness  of  the  siifierings  of  Christ,  220  ;  and  also 

2.  a  partaker  of  the  glory  that  shall  be  revealed,  224  ;  feed  the  flock 
of  God  which  is  among  you,  226  ;  taking  the  oversight  thereof, 
200  ;  not  by  constraint,  but  willingly,   205  ;  not  for  filthy  hicre, 

3.  but  of  a  ready  mind,  209  ;  neither  as  being  lords,  213  ;  over  God's 

4.  heritage,  227  ;  but  being  ensamples  to  the  flock,  214 ;  and  when 
the   chief   Shepherd  shall   appear,   ye   shall   receive   a   crown  of 

5.  glory  that  fadeth  not  away,  229.  Likewise,  230  ;  ye  younger,  238  ; 
submit  yourselves  unto  the  elder,   244,  246 ;  yea,  all  of  you  be 


Vm  CONTENTS. 


subject  one  to  anotlier,  257  ;  and  be  clothed  with  liumility,  266  ; 
for  God  resisteth  the  proud,  271  ;  and  giveth  grace  to  the  humble, 

6.  275.     Humble  yourselves,  293  ;  therefore,  under  the  mighty  hand 

7.  of  God,  287  ;  that  he  may  exalt  you  in  due  time,  300  ;  casting  all 

8.  your  care  upon  him,  308  ;  for  he  careth  for  you,  318.  Be  sober, 
355 ;  be  vigilant,  358  ;  because  yoiir  adversary,  338  ;  the  devil, 
336  ;  as  a  roaring  lion,  344 ;  walketh  about,  342  ;  seeking  whom 

9.  he  may  devour,  345  ;  whom  resist,  350  ;  stedf ast  in  the  faith,  360  ; 
knowing  that  the  same  afflictions  are  accomplished  in  your  brethren 

10.  that  are  in  the  world,  363.  But  the  God  of  all  grace,  379  ;  who 
hath  called  us,  382  ;  to  his  eternal  glory,  384 ;  by  Christ  Jesus, 
383  ;  after  that  ye  have  suffered  a  while,  387  ;  make  you  perfect, 

11.  370;  stablish,  372;  strengthen,  372  ;  settle  you,  373  ;  to  him  be 

12.  glory  and  dominion  for  ever  and  ever.  Amen,  390.  By  Silvanus, 
406  ;  a  faithful  brother  unto  you,  407  ;  as  I  suppose,  408  ;  I  have 
written  briefly,   404  ;  exhorting,   403 ;  and  testifying,  404 ;  that 

13.  this  is  the  true  gi'ace  of  God,  398  ;  wherein  ye  stand,  400.  The 
church  that  is  at  Babylon,  409  ;  saluteth  joxi,  and  so  doth  Marcus, 

14.  my  son,  412.  Greet  ye  one  another  with  a  kiss  of  charity,  413. 
Peace  be  with  you  all  that  are  in  Christ  Jesus,  415.     Amen,  418. 


INDEX— 

I.  Principal  Matters,  .......  421 

II.  Greek  Words  and  Phrases  remarked  on,  .         .         .  429 

III.  Authors  quoted  or  referred  to,  .         .         .         .         .  431 

TV.  Texts  of  Scripture  remarked  on,       .....  434 


EXPOSITORY  DISCOURSES. 


DISCOURSE  XVIL 

EXHORTATION  TO  HOLINESS  BASED  ON  THE  ATONEMENT. 

"  Forasmuch  then  as  Christ  hath  suffered  for  us  in  the  flesh,  arm  yourselves 
likewise  with  the  same  mind :  for  he  that  hath  suffered  in  the  flesh  hath 
ceased  from  siu  ;  that  he  no  longer  should  live  the  rest  of  his  time  in  the  flesh 
to  the  lusts  of  men,  but  to  the  will  of  God.  For  the  time  past  of  our  life  may 
sufSce  us  to  have  wrought  the  will  of  the  Gentiles,  when  we  walked  in 
lasciviousness,  lusts,  excess  of  wine,  revellings,  bauquetings,  and  abominable 
idolatries :  wherein  they  think  it  strange  that  ye  run  not  with  them  to  the 
same  excess  of  riot,  speaking  evil  of  you  :  who  shall  give  account  to  him  that 
is  ready  to  judge  the  quick  and  the  dead.  For,  for  this  cause  was  the  gospel 
preached  also  to  them  that  are  dead,  that  they  might  be  judged  according  to 
men  in  the  flesh,  but  live  according  to  God  in  the  spirit." — 1  Pet.  iv.  1-6. 

HE  paragraph  now  read  presents  us  with  a  very 
important  theme  of  consideration.  It  directs  us 
to  the  practical  use  which  we  should  habitually 
make  of  that  great  fundamental  principle  of 
Christianity,  "  that  Christ,  the  just  One,  suffered  in  the 
room  of  the  unjust,  that  he  might  bring  them  to  God."  It 
teaches  us  to  use  it  as  the  most  serviceable  piece  of  armour, 
whether  defensive  or  offensive,  that  we  can  employ  in  the 
spiritual  conflict  on  which  as  Christians  we  profess  to  have 
entered  ;  that  which  in  the  preceding  context  is  represented 
as  the  expiation  of  our  guilt,  the  price  of  our  pardon,  the 
ground  of  our  hope,  being  here  exhibited  as  also  the  means 
VOL.  III.  A 


1 

i 

2  EXHORTATION  TO  HOLINESS,  [DISC.  XVII. 

of  our  sanctification, — tlie  strongest  motive,  the  most  cheer- 
ing encouragement,  to  "  cleanse  ourselves  from  all  filthiness 
of  the  flesh  and  spirit,  and  to  perfect  holiness  in  the  fear  of 
God," — to  "  put  off  the  old  man,  v^hich  is  corrupt,  and  put 
on  the  new  man,  which,  after  God,"  that  is,  in  the  image  of 
God,  "is  created  in  righteousness  and  true  holiness;"^  or, 
as  the  apostle  has  it  here,  "  to  live  no  longer  the  rest  of  our 
time  in  the  flesh  to  the  lusts  of  men,  but  to  the  will  of 
God." 

The  words  of  the  text  are  so  obviously  and  so  intimately 
related  to  those  which  immediately  precede  them,  that  we 
cannot  help  considering  the  commencement  of  a  new  chap- 
ter here  as  injudicious,  and  as  fitted  rather  to  obscure  the 
sense ;  the  natural  place  for  a  division  being  plainly  the 
close  of  the  eleventh  verse.  The  long  and  somewhat  in- 
volved sentence  which  I  have  read  (for  it  is  one  sentence), 
is  a  following  up  of  the  statement  which  had  been  made 
respecting  the  sufferings  of  Christ,  in  their  nature,  design, 
and  consequences,  by  an  exhortation  enforced  by  two  appro- 
priate motives.  The  exhortation  is  contained  in  the  second 
part  of  the  first  verse,  and  in  the  whole  of  the  second  ;  and 
the  first  motive  is  adduced  in  the  third,  fourth,  and  fifth 
verses,  and  the  second  in  the  sixth  verse.  This  is  clearly 
the  general  division  of  the  passage  ;  and  even  this  general 
view  of  the  construction  of  the  passage  will  be  found  useful 
in  guiding  our  inquiries  into  its  meaning. 

Interpreters  have  been  a  good  deal  perplexed,  both  as  to 
the  manner  in  which  the  various  clauses  are  connected  with 
each  other,  and  as  to  the  meaning  which  severally  and  con- 
jointly they  are  intended  to  express.  I  have  never  con- 
versed with  an  intelligent  Christian,  acquainted  merely  with 
our  English  version  of  the  passage,  who  has  not  complained 
of  its  obscurity,  and  acknowledged,  that  while  most,  though 

^  Eph.  iv.  24.       Karx  Qioii. 


DISC.  XVII.]  EXHORTATION  TO  HOLINESS.  3 

by  no  means  all,  of  the  expressions  seemed  clear  enough 
when  taken  singly,  and  many  of  the  clauses  viewed  sepa- 
rately had  an  obvious  meaning,  he  had  failed  in  his  attempts 
to  obtain  a  consistent  and  satisfactory  view  of  the  whole  ; 
and  I  could  not  very  readily  point  such  a  person  to  any 
interpretation  of  the  passage  where  he  would  find  a  complete 
solution  of  his  doubts  and  difficulties. 

I  have  no  doubt  the  passage  has  often  been  read  without 
the  perception  of  any  difficulty  ;  but  that  is  only  a  proof 
how  inattentive  many  readers  of  the  Bible  are  to  the  com- 
mand of  its  Author,  "  He  that  readeth,  let  him  understand." 
It  is  good  to  observe  difficulties ;  it  is  the  first  step  towards 
having  them  removed.  It  may  be  said — I  believe  it  is  often 
thought — an  unobserved  difficulty  can  do  no  harm  ;  but  this 
is  a  mistake,  for  it  may  lead  into  error  :  at  any  rate,  it  must 
prevent  us  from  apprehending  the  truth,  and  from  obtain- 
ing from  it  the  practical  advantages  it  is  intended  to  com- 
municate. 

There  is  no  difficulty  in  the  first  clause,  "  Forasmuch  as 
Christ  hath  suffered  for  us  in  the  flesh,"  bearing,  as  it 
plainly  does,  on  the  statements  respecting  the  sufferings  of 
Christ,  in  their  nature,  design,  and  results,  contained  in  the 
five  concluding  verses  of  the  preceding  chapter, — "That 
He  once  suffered  for  sins,  the  just  for  the  unjust,  that  he 
might  bring  us  to  God ;  and  that,  having  become  dead  in 
the  flesh,  he  was  quickened  in  the  Spirit,  and  went  and 
preached  to  the  spirits  in  prison ;  and  being  raised  from 
the  dead,  is  gone  into  heaven,  and,  seated  at  the  right  hand 
of  God,  has  angels,  and  principalities,  and  powers  subjected 
to  him," — and  referring  to  that  statement  as  the  basis  on 
which  the  apostle  is  about  to  place  the  following  exhortation. 
This  is  sufficiently  plain ;  but  the  difficulties  immediately 
commence,  and  they  come  in  considerable  number  and  close 
succession. 


4  EXHORTATION  TO  HOLINESS.  [DISC.  XVII. 

"Arm  yourselves  with  the  same  mind."  With  what 
mind  ?  If  it  be  answered,  with  the  mind  or  disposition  of 
Christ,  the  question  returns,  But  what  is  said  about  his 
mind  or  disposition  in  the  context  ?  Absolutely  nothing. 
His  sufferings  are  spoken  of, — their  nature,  their  design, 
their  results,  are  particularly  referred  to ;  but  there  is  no- 
thing said  of  his  mind,  his  temper,  or  disposition.  Had  the 
words,  "  Arm  yourselves  with  the  same  mind,"  followed  the 
very  similar  passage  in  chap.  ii.  21-24, — "Christ  suffered 
for  us,  leaving  us  an  example,  that  we  should  follow  his 
steps ;  who  did  no  sin,  neither  was  guile  found  in  his  mouth  ; 
who,  when  he  was  reviled,  reviled  not  again  ;  when  he 
suffered,  he  threatened  not,  but  committed  himself  to  him 
who  judgeth  righteously," — we  should  at  once  have  seen 
the  connection.  The  exhortation  would  have  seemed  to  rise 
naturally  out  of  the  statement,  "  Forasmuch  as  Christ  has 
thus  suffered,  arm  yourselves  with  the  same  mind"  when 
ye  are  called  to  suffer.  But  here  the  exhortation  is  not  to 
imitate  Christ  in  suffering,  but  to  make  the  fact  of  his 
having  suffered,  a  piece  of  armour,  offensive  and  defensive, 
in  our  conflicts  with  our  spiritual  adversaries. 

Then  come  the  words,  "  For^  he  that  suffered  in  the  flesh 
has  ceased  from  sin  ;  that  he  no  longer  should  live  the  rest 
of  the  time  in  the  flesh  to  the  lusts  of  men,  but  to  the  will 
of  God."  Here  are  a  host  of  perplexities.  Who  is  this 
that  has  "  suffered  in  the  flesh,  and  ceased  from  sin  ?"  Is 
it  Christ,  who  in  the  beginning  of  the  verse  is  said  to  have 
"  suffered  for  us  in  the  flesh  V  That  certainly  is  the  mean- 
ing naturally  suggested  by  the  construction  ;  but  what  can 
be  meant  by  Christ's  ceasing  from  sin  ?  and,  more  extra- 
ordinary still,  what  can  be  meant  by  his  ceasing  from  sin, 
"  that  he  should  no  lon£i;er  live  the  rest  of  his  time  in  the 
flesh  to  the  lusts  of  men,  but  to  the  will  of  God '? "  How 
could  he  cease  from  sin  who  never  be£i;an  to  sin  ?    He  never 


DISC.  XVII.]  EXHORTATION  TO  HOLINESS.  5 

lived  any  part  "  of  his  time  iu  the  flesh  to  the  lusts  of  men." 
He  was  always  "  holy,  harmless,  undefiled,  and  separate 
from  sinners;"^  he  always  "  lived  to  the  will  of  God."  It 
was  "  his  meat  to  do  the  will  of  him  who  sent  him,  and  to 
finish  his  work."^  And  if  "he  who  suffers  in  the  flesh"  be 
any  one  who  suffers  bodily  affliction,  or  any  Christian  who 
suffers  bodily  affliction  for  Christ's  cause, — and  it  has  been 
supposed  to  mean  all  these  by  different  interpreters, — still, 
we  ask,  how  do  any  or  all  of  these  "  cease  from  sin  ?"  Is 
bodily  affliction  a  furnace,  which  uniformly  and  entirely 
separates  the  dross  from  the  precious  metal  in  the  human 
character  ?  Does  a  man  need  only  to  be  made  sufficiently 
miserable  in  order  to  his  becoming  sufficiently  holy?  And 
were  this  insuperable  difficulty  got  over,  what  is  meant  by 
a  man  ceasing  from  sin,  "  that  he  may  no  longer  live  to 
the  lusts  of  men?"  Is  not  that  very  like  an  assertion,  that 
he  ceases  from  sin  that  he  may  cease  from  sin  ?  And  then, 
what  bearing  has  this  strange  declaration  on  the  exhorta- 
tion, "  Arm  yourselves  with  the  same  mind,"  of  which  it 
seems  brought  forward  as  an  enforcement  ? 

And  then,  lookinsc  forward  to  the  conclusion  of  this  sen- 
tence,  the  darkness  becomes  darkness  that  may  be  felt. 
What  is  the  meaning  of  "  the  gospel  being  preached  to 
them  who  are  dead?"  what  is  meant  by  those  dead  being 
"judged  according"  to  men  in  the  flesh?"  what  by  their 
"  living  according  to  God  in  the  spirit?"  And  what  con- 
nection have  these  two  things  with  what  they  seem  to  be 
assigned  as  the  reason  for — either  the  general  judgment,  or 
Christians  avoidins;  sin  and  cultivating;  holiness? 

I  readily  acknowledge,  that  to  some  of  these  questions 

I  cannot  give  a  satisfactory  answer ;  and  from  the  whole 

sentence,  as  it  stands  in  our  version,  it  does  not  seem  possible 

to  extract  a  consistent  and  pertinent  meaning.     It  is  not 

1  Heb.  vii.  2G.  2  John  iv.  34. 


6  EXHORTATION  TO  HOLINESS.  [DISC.  XVII. 

wonderful  that  some  of  tlie  most  learned  and  acute  inter- 
preters have  honestly  confessed  that  they  did  not  under- 
stand it.  It  is  more  wonderful  and  less  creditable,  that 
many  expositors  slur  over  the  matter,  and  leave  their  readers 
equally  uninformed,  so  far  as  they  are  concerned,  as  to  the 
existence  of  difficulties,  or  the  means  of  lessening  or  remov- 
ing them.  I  do  not  know  that  they  can  all  be  removed. 
I  am  persuaded  many  of  them  may. 

A  few  remarks  on  the  meaning  of  a  word  or  two,  and  on 
the  construction  of  one  or  two  clauses,  will,  I  am  persuaded, 
go  far  to  remove  all  difficulty  from  the  first  and  second 
verses,  and  to  make  them  a  clear  expression  of  an  obviously 
just  and  important  thought,  of  a  consistent  and  pertinent 
sentiment.  The  first  remark  as  to  the  meaning  of  a  word 
is  this — that  the  term  rendered  "  mind,"^  which  is,  to  say 
the  least,  not  its  usual  meaning,  should  have  been  trans- 
lated in  a  sense  which  it  very  commonly  bears — "  thought." 
"Arm  yourselves  with  this  same  thought."  And  if  you  ask 
what  same  thought,  the  first  remark  as  to  the  construction 
of  the  clauses  will  give  a  satisfactory  answer :  the  words 
that  immediately  follow  contain  the  thought :  "  He  that 
hath  suffered  in  the  flesh  hath  ceased,  or  rather,  has  been 
made  to  rest,  from  sin  ;"  ^  the  particle  rendered  for^  being 
translated,  as  it  very  frequently  is,  that — thus,  "  Arm  your- 
selves with  this  same  thought,  that  He  who  hath  suffered 
in  the  flesh,  has  been  made  to  rest  from  sin."*  This  is 
the  same  thought  referred  to  in  the  commencement  of  the 
verse,  and  more  fully  brought  out  in  the  concluding  verses 
of  the  preceding  chapter. 

As  to  the  construction  of  the  words,  we  have  to  remark, 
that  the  second  verse  is  not  to  be  considered  as  connected 
directly  with  the  words  which  immediately  precede  it,  but 
with   the    exhortation,    "  Arm   yourselves  with   this  same 

l"Ev»o;a.  '^  Ui-xavrai.  ^"Otl.  *  See  note  A. 


DISC.  XVII]  EXHORTATION  TO  HOLINESS.       .  7 

thought ;"  and  expresses  the  end  to  be  sought  by  that  means. 
It  is  the  reply  to  the  inquiry,  For  what  purpose  are  we  to 
arm  ourselves  with  this  same  thought  ?  It  deserves  notice, 
that  there  is  nothing  in  the  words  themselves  restricting 
tliem  either  to  the  first,  second,  or  third  person.^  They  are 
literally,  "  in  order  to  the  no  longer  living  the  rest  of  the 
time  in  the  flesh  to  the  lusts  of  men,  but  to  the  will  of  God." 
There  follow  in  the  next  four  verses  two  motives,  urging 
compliance  with  the  exhortation  :  the  first  contained  in  the 
third,  fourth,  and  fifth  verses  ;  the  second  contained  in  the 
sixth. 

The  whole  passage,  then,  stands  thus  :  "  Forasmuch  as 
Christ  hath  suffered  for  us  in  the  flesh,  arm  yourselves  with 
this  same  thought,  that  He  who  hath  suffered  in  the  flesh 
has  been  made  to  rest  from  sin."  And  why  arm  yourselves 
with  this  thought  1  "  that  ye  may  no  longer  live  the  rest  of 
your  time  in  the  flesh  to  the  lusts  of  men,  but  to  the  will  of 
God."  And  why  not  live  the  rest  of  your  time  to  the  lusts 
of  men,  but  to  the  will  of  God  ?  (1.)  "  Because  the  time 
past  of  our  life  may  suffice  us  to  have  wrought  the  will 
of  the  Gentiles,  when  we  walked  in  lasciviousness,  lusts, 
excess  of  wine,  revellings,  banquetings,  and  abominable 
idolatries  ;  wherein  they  think  it  strange  that  ye  run  not 
with  them  to  the  same  excess  of  riot,  speaking  evil  of  you, 
who  shall  give  account  to  him  who  is  ready  to  judge  the 
quick  and  the  dead  ;  and  (2.)  Because  for  this  cause  was 
the  gospel  preached  to  them  who  are  dead,  that  they  might 
be  judged  according  to  men  in  the  flesh,  but  live  according 
to  God  in  the  spirit." 

Viewed  in  this  way,  the  sentence  hangs  well  together, 
and  exhibits  a  clear,  consistent,  and  important  meaning. 
Its  general  plan  and  object  thus  become  apparent,  and 

El's  TO  /j-'/iKiTi  aiiSfuTTuiv   i-vi^uf^icci:    aXXa  hX'/ifACCTi  &iou  rov  i'^iXoiTTov  iv  (rapxi 


8  EXHORTATION  TO  HOLINESS.  [DISC.  XVII. 

much  of  the  obscurity  resting  on  particular  words  and 
phrases  is  dispersed. 

There  is,  first,  the  brief  recapitulatory  statement  of  what 
had  just  been  stated  at  greater  length,  which  was  required 
to  lay  a  foundation  for  the  exhortation  which  the  apostle  is 
just  about  to  give  forth  :  "  Forasmuch  as  Christ  hath  suf- 
fered for  us  in  the  flesh,  so  suffered  as  to  have  died,  and 
been  raised  from  the  dead,  and  placed  at  God's  right  hand  ; 
seeing  Christ  hath  thus  suffered  in  the  flesh  for  us" — 

Then  comes,  secondly,  the  exhortation  itself :  "Arm  your- 
selves with  this  same  thought,  that  he  who  has  suffered  in 
the  flesh  has  been  made  to  rest  from  sin,  in  order  that  ye 
may  no  longer  live  your  time  in  the  flesh  to  the  lusts  of 
men,  but  to  the  will  of  God."  The  exhortation  calls  on 
them  to  seek  a  particular  end  by  a  particular  means ;  to 
engage  in  a  particular  course  of  conduct,  which  is  described 
both  negatively  and  positively, — negatively  as  not  living  to 
the  lusts  of  men,  positively  as  living  to  the  will  of  God ; 
and  to  cultivate  a  particular  mode  of  thinking,  in  order  to 
their  successfully  following  out  this  mode  of  acting, — "  arm- 
ing themselves  with  this  thought,  He  that  hath  suffered  in 
the  flesh  has  been  made  to  rest  from  sin."  The  first  exhorta- 
tion is,  "  No  longer  live  your  time  in  the  flesh  to  the  lusts 
of  men,  but  to  the  will  of  God  ;"  the  second,  "  Arm  your- 
selves with  this  same  tliought,  that  he  who  has  suffered  in 
the  flesh  has  been  made  to  rest  from  sin," — in  order  that  you 
may  avoid  the  one  and  follow  the  other  of  these  two  modes 
of  conduct. 

Then  there  are,  thirdly,  the  motives  which  the  apostle 
urges  on  them  to  induce  them  to  comply  with  this  exhor- 
tation. The  first  refers  chiefly  to  the  course  they  should 
abandon,  and  brings  forward  its  criminal  and  disgraceful 
character,  the  strange  infatuation  and  waywardness  of  those 
who  walk  in  it,  and  the  awful  responsibility  in  which  they 


DISC.  XVII.]  EXHORTATION  TO  HOLINESS.  9 

are  involved.  It  is  the  "way  of  the  Gentiles;"  it  consists 
in  "  lasciviousness,  lusts,  excess  of  wine,  revellings,  banquet- 
ings,  and  abominable  idolatries ; "  then  they  who  walk  in  it 
are  so  infatuated  as  to  "  wonder  that  you  do  not  run  with 
them  into  the  same  excess  of  riot,"  and  "  speak  evil  of  you" 
on  that  account ;  and  finally,  "  they  must  give  account  of 
themselves  to  Him  who  is  ready  to  judge  the  quick  and  the 
dead."  Surely  this  is  not  a  way  to  walk  in.  We  should 
never  have  walked  in  it ;  we  have  walked  in  it  too  long ; 
we  must  walk  in  it  no  longer.  The  second  motive  refers 
principally  to  the  way  that  they  should  follow.  To  bring 
men  into  this  way,  and  keep  them  in  this  way,  is  the  great 
design  of  preaching  the  gospel.  "  For,  for  this  cause  was 
the  gospel  preached  to  them  who  are  dead,  that  they  may 
be  judged  according  to  men  in  the  flesh,  but  live  according 
to  God  in  the  spirit."  Some  of  the  phraseology  in  which 
this  motive  is  couched  is  by  no  means  easy  of  explication  ; 
but  that  it  does  express  a  motive  to  the  duty  enjoined,  and 
that  that  motive  is,  substantially,  that  the  great  design  why 
the  gospel  is  preached  is  to  lead  men  to  the  discharge  of 
that  duty,  cannot  reasonably  be  questioned.  This,  then,  is 
the  general  division  of  the  subject,  according  to  which  I 
mean  to  arrange  my  subsequent  illustrative  remarks. 

These  preliminary  observations  have  been  longer  than  I 
could  have  wished;  but  if  they  have  in  any  measure  gained 
their  object,  of  enabling  us  better  to  understand  a  con- 
fessedly difficult,  and  an  obviously  important,  passage  of 
Scripture,  neither  you  nor  I  will  have  cause  to  regret  their 
length.  That  man  does  not  rightly  estimate  the  value  of 
the  pure  ore  of  divine  truth,  who  grudges  the  labour  that  is 
necessary  to  dig  it  out  of  the  mine,  and  separate  it  from 
rubbish ;  and  who,  when  he  in  any  good  measure  succeeds, 
does  not  "  rejoice  as  one  who  findeth  great  spoil."  I  am 
not  without  hope  that  we  shall  find  this  passage,  though  at 


10  EXHORTATION  TO  HOLINESS.  [DISC.  XVII. 

first  sight  beset  with  so  many  difficulties,  in  no  ordinary 
degree  rich  in  Christian  doctrine,  and  law,  and  motive  ; 
"  profitable  for  doctrine,  for  reproof,  for  correction,  for  in- 
struction in  righteousness." 

o 
I.   THE  BASIS  OF  THE  EXHORTATION. 

The  first  branch  of  the  subject — the  great  principle 
OF  Christian  truth,  "  Christ  hath  suffered  for  us  in  the 
flesh" — which  the  apostle  lays  down  as  the  basis  of  his  ex- 
hortation, need  not  detain  us  long,  as  we  have  in  our  last 
discourse  considered  at  great  length  the  full  announcement 
of  it  in  the  close  of  the  last  chapter,  on  which  the  more 
abbreviated  statement  in  the  text  plainly  reduplicates.  It 
is  a  summary  of  all  that  is  most  peculiar  and  important 
in  the  religion  of  Christ,  a  comprehensive  epitome  of  the 
gospel  of  our  salvation.  It  is  that  which  Paul  first  received 
and  first  declared  to  the  churches,  assuring  them  that  it 
was  that  go,?pel  which,  if  they  received  it,  and  kept  it  in 
memoiy,  would  certainly  save  the  soul.^  Its  import  may 
be  thus  briefly  stated. 

Christ,  the  long  promised,  divinely  appointed,  divinely 
qualified,  divinely  accredited,  divine  Saviour,  in  human 
nature  has  endured  numerous,  varied,  violent,  severe  suffer- 
ings, terminating  in  death. 

These  sufferings  were  penal — "  for  sins,"  being  the  exe- 
cution of  the  penal  sanction  of  the  divine  law,  the  manifes- 
tation of  the  displeasure  of  God  against  sin.  He  was  made 
sin,  he  became  a  curse. 

These  sufferings  were  vicarious.     They  were  not  for  his 

own  sins,  for  he  had  none,  but  for  the  sins  of  men.     "  He 

suffered,  the  just  in  the  room  of  the  unjust."    lie  "became 

a  curse"  in  the  room  of  the  accursed.     "  We  all  like  sheep 

1  1  Cor.  XV.  1,  2. 


PART  I.J  BASIS  OF  THE  EXHORTATION.  11 

had  gone  astray:  we  had  turned  every  one  to  his  own  way; 
and  the  Lord  laid  on  him  the  iniquity  of  us  all."  "  He 
was  wounded  for  our  transgressions,  he  was  bruised  for  our 
iniquities,  the  chastisement  of  our  peace  was  on  him." 

These  sufferings  were  expiatory.  In  them  the  penalty 
was  not  only  borne,  but  borne  away.  He  made  an  end  of 
sin,  by  making  reconciliation  for  iniquity.  "  He  took  away 
sin  by  the  sacrifice  of  himself."  "  He  is  the  propitiation 
for  our  sins,"  and  he  is  "  set  forth  a  propitiation  ;"  and 
the  righteousness  of  God  in  the  remission  of  sins  is  thus 
declared :  "  God  being  just,  and  the  justifier  of  him  who 
believes  in  Jesus." 

The  design  of  these  penal,  vicarious,  and  expiatory 
sufferings  of  the  divinely  appointed,  divinely  qualified, 
divinely  accredited,  divine  Saviour,  is  to  bring  men  to  God ; 
to  restore  ignorant  and  deluded  man  to  the  true  knowledge 
of  God,  guilty  man  to  the  favour  of  God,  depraved  man  to 
the  image  of  God,  and  miserable  man  to  the  enjoyment  of 
God ;  thus  making  him  truly  wise,  truly  good,  and  truly 
happy  for  ever. 

Finally,  while  these  sufferings  terminated  in  the  death 
of  the  incarnate  Saviour,  they  obtained  for  him  as  their 
merited  reward,  that  spiritual  power  which  he  exerts 
through  the  preaching  of  the  gospel,  in  giving  liberty  to 
the  spiritually  enslaved,  and  life  to  the  spiritually  dead ; 
and  a  seat  at  God's  right  hand  in  the  Heaven  of  heavens, 
angels  and  principalities  and  powers  being  made  subject 
to  him.  Such  is  the  great  truth  referred  to  by  the  apostle 
in  the  words,  "  Christ  has  suffered  for  us  in  the  flesh,"  and 
which  he  lays  down  as  the  basis  on  which  he  builds  an 
exhortation  to  universal  holiness — "  holiness  in  all  manner 
of  conversation." 


12  EXHORTATION  TO  HOLINESS.  [DISC.  XVII. 


II.    THE  EXHORTATION. 

That  EXHORTATION  forms  the  second  division  of  our 
subject,  to  the  consideration  of  which  we  now  proceed.  It 
is  contained  in  these  words  :  "  Arm  yourselves  with  this 
same  thought,  that  He  who  hath  suffered  in  the  flesh  has 
been  made  to  rest  from  sin,  that  ye  no  longer  should  live 
the  rest  of  your  time  in  the  flesh  to  the  lusts  of  men,  but  to 
the  will  of  God."  The  exhortation,  as  I  have  already  had 
occasion  to  remark,  is  twofold.  The  apostle  calls  on  them 
to  use  certain  means  in  order  to  secure  a  certain  end  :  to 
cultivate  a  particular  mode  of  thinking,  that  they  may 
follow  a  particular  course  of  conduct ;  to  arm  themselves 
with  an  influential  thought,  that  they  may  perform  a  diffi- 
cult work.  It  will,  I  believe,  subserve  the  purpose  of  clear 
exposition,  if  we  consider  the  two  parts  of  the  exhortation 
in  the  inverse  order  in  which  they  are  presented  to  us  in 
the  text :  that  we  first  consider  the  course  of  conduct  which 
the  apostle  would  have  Christians  to  pursue,  and  then  the 
means  he  would  have  them  to  employ  in  order  that  they 
may  follow  that  course  of  conduct. 

§  1.   The  particular  object  to  be  sought ;  negative — positive. 

The  course  of  conduct  which  the  apostle  would  have 
Christians  to  pursue,  is  described  in  these  words :  "  No 
longer  live  the  rest  of  your  time  in  the  flesh  to  the  lusts 
of  men,  but  live  ^  the  rest  of  your  time  in  the  flesh  to  the 
will  of  God."  The  exhortation,  you  perceive,  is  both 
negative  and  positive.  It  forbids  one  course  of  conduct 
and  enjoins  another. 

(1.)  Negative  :  ^^  Not  to  live  to  the  lusts  of  men" 

The  negative  exhortation  plainly  proceeds  on  the  prin- 
1  'BiMfftx,!.     Aptum  verbum :  non  dicitur  de  brutis. — Be^'GEL. 


PART  II.]  OBJECT  TO  BE  SOUGHT.  13 

ciple,  that  in  the  former  part  of  their  lives,  previously  to 
their  conversion,  they  had  been  distinguished  by  a  mode  of 
conduct  not  only  different  from,  but  directly  opposite  to, 
that  by  which  they  ought  henceforward  to  be  characterized : 
they  had  done  what  they  are  now  not  to  do ;  they  had  not 
done  what  they  are  now  to  do ;  they  had  lived  the  former 
part  of  their  time  in  the  flesh  to  the  lusts  of  men,  and  not 
to  the  will  of  God.  It  is  of  great  importance  that  Chris- 
tians should  keep  habitually  in  mind  their  state  and  cha- 
racter previous  to  conversion  ;  "  that  they  should  often  look 
to  the  rock  whence  they  were  hewn,  and  to  the  hole  of  the 
pit  whence  they  were  dug."  ^  It  is  fitted  to  hide  pride  from 
their  eyes,  to  excite  gratitude,  to  deepen  the  sense  of  obli- 
gation. To  gain  these  ends,  God's  ancient  people  were 
often  put  in  mind  of  their  humble  origin,  and  their  enslaved 
state  in  Egypt ;  and  Christians  are  frequently,  directly  and 
indirectly,  called  on  to  reflect  on  the  state  of  error  and  guilt 
and  condemnation  and  spiritual  enslavement  from  which 
they  have  been  delivered.  "  Once  were  ye  darkness,  but 
now  are  ye  light  in  the  Lord ;  walk  in  the  light." 

"  Such  were  some  of  you,"  says  the  apostle,  after  giving 
a  list  of  enormous  transgressors  :  "  Such  were  some  of  you  ; 
but  ye  are  washed,  but  ye  are  sanctified,  but  ye  are  justified, 
in  the  name  of  the  Lord  Jesus,  and  by  the  Spirit  of  our 
God."  "  In  time  past,"  says  he,  speaking  to  those  who  had 
been,  in  the  great  love  wherewith  the  God  who  is  rich  in 
mercy  had  loved  them,  quickened  together  with  Christ,  and 
made  to  sit  together  in  heavenly  places  in  him,  "  ye  were 
dead  in  trespasses  and  sins ;  ye  walked  according  to  the 
course  of  this  world,  according  to  the  prince  of  the  power  of 
the  air,  the  spirit  that  now  worketh  in  the  children  of  dis- 
obedience ;  among  whom  also  we  all  had  our  conversation 
in  time  past,  in  the  lusts  of  our  flesh  fulfilling  the  desires 
1  Isa.  li.  1,  2. 


14  EXHORTATION  TO  HOLINESS.  [DISC.  XVII. 

of  the  flesh  and  of  the  mind,  and  were  by  nature  the  children 
of  wrath,  even  as  otliers."  "  Remember,"  says  he,  "  that  at 
that  time  ye  were  without  Christ,  being  ahens  from  the 
commonwealth  of  Israel,  and  strangers  from  the  covenants 
of  promise,  having  no  hope,  and  being  without  God  in  the 
world."  ^  And  hei'e  the  apostle,  not  the  less  impressively  be- 
cause indirectly,  reminds  the  Christians  to  whom  he  wrote, 
that  they  had  spent  the  former  part  of  their  lives  in  rebellion 
against  God,  and  in  base  subjection  to  his  and  their  enemies. 
"  The  time  in  the  flesh"  is  an  expression  just  equivalent 
to  the  period  of  our  mortal  life.  During  the  past  part  of 
this  life,  previous  to  their  conversion,  they  had  lived  "  not 
to  the  will  of  God,  but  to  the  lusts  of  men."  To  live  to 
the  will  of  God  is  to  live  according  to  the  will  of  God,  to 
make  the  will  of  God  the  supreme  rule  and  the  ultimate 
reason  of  our  sentiments  and  conduct.  In  his  unconverted 
state,  no  man  does  this.  He  is  ignorant  and  misinformed 
as  to  the  will  of  God,  and  no  way  disposed  to  seek  after 
more  extended  or  accurate  information  on  this  subject. 
He  does  "not  like  to  retain  God  in  his  knowledge;"  and 
when  God  presses  the  truth  respecting  his  will  on  such  a 
man's  notice,  he  turns  away,  saying  in  his  heart,  "  Let  me 
alone;"  "Depart  from  me,  I  desire  not  the  knowledge  of 
thy  will  or  thy  ways."  He  "  walks  after  the  imagination  of 
his  own  heart." ^  In  most  cases,  in  forming  a  determination 
as  to  a  course  of  conduct,  the  question,  '  Is  the  course 
resolved  on  agreeable  to  or  inconsistent  with  the  will  of 
God  1 '  is  never  put.  God  is  not  in  all  the  thoughts.  Nor 
is  this  the  worst  of  it :  for  there  are  cases  in  which  the  man 
is,  from  circumstances,  compelled  to  admit  into  his  calcula- 
tions the  element  of  conformity  or  disconformity  with  the 
will  of  God  ;  and  then,  instead  of  giving  it  its  proper  place, 
which  is  that  of  supreme  control,  he  deliberately  sets  it 
1  Epk  V.  8  J  1  Cor.  vi.  II  ;  Eph.  ii.  1,  2,  II,  12.  2  jer.  xxiii.  17. 


PART  II.]  OBJECT  TO  BE  SOUGHT.  15 

aside,  and  proceeds  to  choose  and  to  act  in  direct  opposition 
to  what  he  knows  to  be  the  divine  will,  choosing  and  doing 
what  he  knows  God  disapproves,  and  rejecting  and  refusing 
to  do  what  he  knows  God  approves.  The  language  of  his 
conduct  is  that  of  the  rebellious  Jews  to  Jeremiah  :  "  As  to 
the  word  that  thou  hast  spoken  to  us  in  the  name  of  the  Lord, 
we  will  not  hearken  to  thee ;  but  we  will  certainly  do  what- 
soever thing  goeth  forth  out  of  our  own  mouth,"  ^ 

And  while  thus  not  living  to  the  will  of  God,  he  is  living 
"  to  the  lusts  of  men."  The  lusts  of  men  are  just  the  desires 
whereby  mankind  in  their  fallen  state  are  characterized ; 
some  of  them  sinful  in  themselves ;  others  of  them  innocent 
in  themselves,  but  faulty  from  excess  or  misdirection ;  all  of 
them  unfitted  for  a  purpose  which  they  were  never  meant  to 
answer — to  be  the  regulating  principle  of  conduct.  And  to 
live  to  these  desires  is  just  to  make  them  the  rule  and  reason 
of  what  we  do ;  to  spend  life  in  endeavouring  to  obtain  the 
gratification  of  these  desires,  seeking  to  conform  ourselves 
to  our  own  natural  inclinations  ;  "  fashioning  ourselves,"  as 
the  apostle  phrases  it  in  the  first  chapter  of  this  epistle, 
"accordino;  to  our  former  lusts  in  our  ignorance  :"  formincr 
our  character  entirely  under  their  influence,  and  the  influ- 
ence of  their  objects,  present  and  sensible  things,  "  things 
seen  and  temporal;"  or  seeking  to  conform  ourselves  to 
those  desires  as  reigning  in  and  manifested  by  others,  being 
"conformed  to  this  world," — embracing  commonly  preva- 
lent opinions,  regulating  ourselves  by  commonly  prevalent 
maxims,  just  because  they  are  commonly  prevalent, — "  walk- 
ing according  to  the  course  of  this  world;"  and,  while 
obstinatelv  refusinc;  to  be  servants  of  God  in  livino;  to  his 
will,  basely  becoming  the  slaves  of  men  by  living  to  their 
.lusts.  This  is  a  true  account  of  the  mode  of  life  of  every 
unrenewed  man.  It  was  once  the  mode  of  life  of  those  to 
1  Jer.  xliv.  16,  17. 


16  EXHORTATION  TO  HOLINESS.  [DISC.  XVII. 

whom  the  apostle  is  writing.  It  was  once  the  mode  of  life 
of  every  true  Christian.  It  is  the  mode  of  life  of  vast  multi- 
tudes of  professed  Christians  still. 

But,  says  the  apostle  to  the  strangers  scattered  abroad, 
this  must  be  your  mode  of  life  no  longer.  Now  that  ye  are 
"  in  Christ,"  ye  have  become  "  new  creatures ;  old  things 
are  passed  away,  all  things  are  become  new."^  You  must 
no  more  live  the  rest  of  your  time  in  the  flesh  to  the 
lusts  of  men,  but  to  the  will  of  God.  "  Worldly  desires," 
whether  in  yourselves  or  in  others,  are  not  to  be  the  guiding 
principles  of  your  conduct.  You  are  not,  because  you 
desire,  or  other  men  desire,  a  particular  object,  to  set  about 
forthwith  to  endeavour  to  obtain  it.  You  are  to  bring  all 
your  own  desires,  and  all  the  desires  of  others,  viewed  as 
influencing  your  choice  and  conduct,  before  the  tribunal  of 
a  higher  principle  ;  and  according  to  its  awards,  you  are  to 
refuse,  or  modify,  or  gratify  them.  Where  they  are  con- 
demned, they  are,  as  existing  in  ourselves,  to  be  sought  to 
be  weakened  and  destroyed, — cut  off,  though  apparently 
useful  as  a  right  hand, — pulled  out,  though  felt  to  be  dear* 
as  a  right  eye,  and  cast  from  us  as  an  abominable  and  per- 
nicious thing;  and  as  existing  in  others,  they  are  not  to 
be  complied  with,  but  steadily  resisted.  And  even  where 
they  are  not  sinful  in  their  nature,  but  merely  in  danger  of 
becoming  exorbitant  in  their  demands,  they  are  never  to  be 
permitted  to  be  the  guide  of  our  conduct,  the  controlling 
power  of  action.  Christians  are  not  to  "  obey  sin  by  the 
desires  of  the  body,  yielding  their  members  to  it  as  the 
instruments  of  unrighteousness."  They  are  not  to  "  make 
provision  for  the  flesh  to  fulfil  its  desires  ;"  on  the  contrary, 
they  are  to  "  mortify  their  members  that  are  on  the  earth  ;" 
they  are  to  "  crucify  the  flesh,  with  its  affections  and  lusts  ;" 
they  are  to  "deny  themselves;"  they  are  not  to  be  "  con- 
1  2  Cor.  V.  17. 


J 


PART  II]  OBJECT  TO  BE  SOUGHT.  17 

formed  to  this  present  world,"  and  they  are  to  turn  away 
from  them  "who  walk  after  their  own  ungodly  desires ;" 
they  are  to  "  have  no  fellowship  with  the  unfruitful  works 
of  darkness,  but  rather  to  reprove  them."  They  are  not  to 
"  walk  as  men,"  but  as  Christians  ;  not  as  "  born  of  the 
flesh,"  but  as  "  born  of  the  Spirit."^ 

(2.)  Positive  ;  "  To  live  to  the  will  of  Godr 

The  principle  which  is  to  guide  their  conduct  and  fashion 
their  character,  and  which  is  to  control  and  direct  the  de- 
sires, whether  in  themselves  or  others,  as  principles  of  their 
conduct,  is  "  the  will  of  God."  They  are  to  live  the  rest  of 
their  time  in  the  flesh  "  to  the  will  of  God,"  that  is,  accord- 
ing to  the  will  of  God.  Not  human  desire,  either  in  our- 
selves or  others,  but  divine  will,  is  to  be  the  rule  and  reason 
of  our  conduct. 

The  will  of  God  is  the  rule  of  his  own  conduct.  "  He 
worketh  all  thinD;s  according  to  the  counsel  of  his  own  will." 
"  He  doeth  according  to  his  will  in  the  armies  ^of  heaven, 
and  among  the  inhabitants  of  the  earth."  His  will  is  the 
law  of  all  inanimate  and  irrational  being.  "  He  has  estab- 
lished the  earth,  and  it  abideth.  They  continue  this  day 
accordino;  to  his  ordinance,  for  all  are  his  servants."  This 
will  is  the  rule  and  the  reason  of  the  conduct  of  all  holy, 
intelligent  beings.  The  angels  that  excel  in  strength,  "  do 
his  commandments,  hearkening  unto  the  voice  of  his  word  ; 
they  are  ministers  of  his,  that  do  his  pleasure."^  This  will 
should  be  the  rule  and  reason  of  the  conduct  of  all  intelli- 
gent beings. 

The  will  of  God  can  be  the  rule  and  reason  of  the  con- 

1  ^att.  V.  29,  30,  xviii.  8  ;  Kom.  y\.  12,  13,  xiii.  14  ;  Col.  iii.  5  ;  Gal. 
V.  24;  Matt.  xvi.  24;  Rom.  xii.  2;  2  Tim.  iii.  5;  Eph.  v.  11  ;  2  Cor. 
iii.  3  ;  Jolin  iii.  4. 

2  Epli.  i.  11  ;  Dan.  iv.  35  ;  Ps.  cxix.  90,  ciii.  20,  21. 

VOL.  III.  B 


18  EXHORTATION  TO  HOLINESS.  [DISC.  XVII. 

duct  of  intelligent  beings,  only  in  the  degree  in  wliich  it  is 
revealed  to  and  known  by  them.  The  secret  will  of  God, 
or  what  we  ordinarily  term  his  decrees,  so  far  as  unrevealed, 
cannot  be  the  guide  of  our  conduct.  But  when  his  will 
becomes  apparent  in  his  providential  dispensations,  then  it 
is  our  duty  to  submit  to  it  with  unmurmuring  acquiescence, 
however  opposed  to  our  natural  inclination,  saying,  "  It  is 
the  Lord ;  let  him  do  with  us  what  seemeth  good  in  his 
sight.  The  will  of  the  Lord  be  done.  Thy  will  be  done 
in  earth  as  it  is  in  heaven."^ 

It  is  however  his  will,  as  made  known  in  his  v)ord,  that 
is  to  be  the  chief,  the  paramount  rule  of  our  conduct.  He 
has,  in  the  Scriptures  of  truth,  "  showed  us  what  is  good, 
and  what  he  requires  of  us," — "  his  good,  and  acceptable, 
and  perfect  will."^  He  has  declared  to  us  what  is  true,  and 
what  is  right ;  and  it  ought  to  be  our  habitual  endeavour 
to  ascertain  what  he  has  declared  to  be  true,  that  we  may 
believe  it ;  what  he  has  declared  to  be  right,  that  we  may  do 
it.  To  the  question.  May  we  do  this  ?  we  should  reply  by 
the  question,  Does  the  revelation  of  his  will  permit  it  I — to 
the  question,  Must  we  do  this?  by  the  question.  Does  the 
revelation  of  his  will  require  it "?  And  no  amount  of  oppo- 
site influence,  from  whatever  quarter  it  may  come,  whether 
from  inclination,  or  interest,  or  general  opinion,  must  be 
permitted  to  induce  us  to  do  what  that  revelation  says  we 
may  not  do,  or  to  neglect  what  it  says  we  must  do.  "  What 
soever  we  do,  whether  in  word  or  in  deed,  we  must  do  it  as 
to  the  Lord,  and  not  as  to  men ;"  acknowledging  his  autho- 
rity, seeking  his  approbation.  Regarding  ourselves  as  his 
property,  we  must  seek  to  dispose  of  that  property  according 
to  his  will.  Knowing  that  we  are  not  our  own,  and  there- 
fore not  to  be  regulated  by  our  own  will, — not  other  men's, 

1  1  Sam.  iii.  18 ;  Acts  xxi.  14 ;  Matt.  vi.  10. 

2  Mic,  vi.  8 ;  Rom.  xii.  2. 


PART  II.]  OBJECT  TO  BE  SOUGHT.  19 

and  therefore  not  to  be  regulated  by  their  will,  but  God's — 
originally  his,  and  anew  made  his,  by  being  "  bought  with 
a  price," — we  are  to  "glorify  him,"  by  working  that  which 
is  well-pleasing  in  his  sight,  "  in  our  bodies  and  in  our 
spirits,  which  are  his."  "  Whether  we  live,  we  are  to  live 
to  the  Lord  ;  whether  we  die,  we  are  to  die  to  the  Lord ; 
whether  living  or  dying,"  we  are  to  act  as  His.  "  Alive 
unto  God,  through  Jesus  Christ  our  Lord,  we  are  to  live  to 
him ;  yielding  ourselves  to  him  as  his  servants,  and  our 
members  to  him  as  the  instruments  of  holiness."  "  For 
this  is  the  will  of  God,  even  our  sanctification;"  our  entire 
separation  in  temper,  and  spirit,  and  conduct,  from  "  the 
world  lying  under  the  wicked  one" — "  the  Gentiles  who 
know  not  God."^ 

This  view  of  Christian  duty  in  its  two  parts,  of  not  living 
to  the  lusts  of  men,  and  living  to  the  will  of  God,  is  quite 
coincident  with  many  other  representations  contained  in  the 
New  Testament ; — as  when  Christians  are  commanded  to 
"  put  off  the  old  man,  and  to  put  on  the  new  man  ;"  to 
"  cleanse  themselves  from  all  filthiness  of  the  flesh  and 
spirit,  and  to  perfect  holiness  in  the  fear  of  God ;"  to 
"  escape  from  the  corruption  that  is  in  the  world  through 
lust,"  and  to  put  on  "  a  divine  nature  ;"  to  "  be  not  con- 
formed to  this  world,  but  so  transformed  by  the  renewing 
of  the  mind,  as  to  prove  what  is  the  good,  and  acceptable, 
and  perfect  will  of  God ;"  "  to  deny  ungodliness  and  worldly 
lusts,  and  to  live  soberly,  righteously,  and  godly  in  this 
present  world."  ^ 

It  deserves  to  be  noticed  in  conclusion  here,  that  the 
phraseology,  "  to  live  the  rest  of  your  time  in  the  flesh  to 
the  will  of  God,"  naturally  intimates  that  the  course  en- 
joined is  to  be  a  persevering  one.    There  is  to  be  no  return- 

1  1  Cor.  vi.  20 ;  Rom.  xiv.  8,  vi.  11,  1.3  ;  1  Thess.  iv.  3. 

2  Eph.  iv.  22,  24 ;  2  Cor.  vii.  1  ;  2  Pet.  i.  4  ;  Eom.  xu.  2 ;  Tit.  ii.  12. 


20  EXHORTATION  TO  HOLINESS.  [DISC.  XVII. 

ing  to  living  to  the  lusts  of  men,  but  a  continuing  during  the 
whole  of  the  rest  of  life  to  live  to  the  will  of  God, — a  con- 
stant "  continuance  in  well-doing."  Christians  "  have  need 
of  patience,"^  that  is,  of  perseverance.  They  must  persevere, 
that  having  done  the  will  of  God,  they  may  obtain  the 
promise.    He  that  turns  back,  turns  back  to  "  perdition."  ^ 

Let  us,  my  brethren,  endeavour  to  reduce  to  practice  the 
lesson  which  has  now  been  given  us,  of  living  not  to  the 
lusts  of  men,  but  to  the  will  of  God.  To  act  otherwise  is 
folly  and  sin  in  all ;  but  it  is  doubly  sin  and  folly  in  those 
who  profess  the  faith  of  Christ.  Do  you  not,  brethren, 
profess  to  have  been  delivered  from  the  present  evil  world 
by  Christ's  having  given  himself  for  you  by  the  will  of  God  ? 
Have  you  not  said  that  the  world  is  crucified  to  you  by  that 
cross  of  Christ  in  which  you  glory  I  Have  you  not  said 
that  ye  are  Christ's  ?  And  is  it  not  written,  that  "  they  who 
are  Christ's  have  crucified  the  flesh,  with  the  affections  and 
lusts  ?"^  And  while  you  have  denied  that  you  are  the 
world's,  ye  have  declared  that  ye  are  the  Lord's ;  and  while 
you  have  renounced  it,  ye  have  avouched  Him.  You  have 
said,  "  His  we  are,  and  Him  we  will  serve."  See,  then, 
that  you  do  not  live  to  the  lusts  of  men  who  know  not  God — 
"  worldly  lusts."  See  that  you  do  not  make  the  gratification 
of  your  own  natural  inclinations,  in  any  of  their  endlessly 
diversified  forms,  the  object  of  life.  Be  not  regulated  by 
the  love  of  worldly  pleasure,  of  worldly  honour,  of  worldly 
power,  of  worldly  wealth.  In  one  word,  see  that  you  "  love 
not  the  world,  neither  the  things  that  are  in  the  world."* 
See  that  you  do  not  make  present,  sensible,  apparent  good, 
the  great  subject  of  your  thoughts,  the  great  object  of  your 
affections. 

1 'Tcra/iof;). — Luke  viii.   15;  Rom.  ii.  7,  viii.  25;  Heb.  xii.  I.      "Per- 
severance "  is  the  ordinary  meaning  of  this  word  in  the  New  Testament. 
2  Heb.  X.  36-39.  3  (Jal,  v,  24.  *  I  John  ii.  15. 


PART  II.]  OBJECT  TO  BE  SOUGHT.  21 

On  the  other  hand,  see  that  you  Hve  to  the  will  of  Him 
whom  ye  have  called  Master  and  Lord  ;  and  that  you  may 
do  so,  "  be  ye  not  unwise,  but  understanding  what  the  will 
of  the  Lord  is."  ^  Grow  in  the  knowledge  of  his  will ;  and 
that  you  may  do  so,  do  his  will  so  far  as  you  know  it.  "  If 
any  man  will  do,"  that  is,  is  disposed  to  do,  "  his  will,  he 
shall  know  of  the  doctrine,  whether  it  be  of  God."^  "  The 
meek,"  the  docile,  the  obedient,  "  he  will  lead  in  judgment, 
and  the  meek  will  he  teach  his  way."  Seek,  then,  to  stand 
"  perfect  and  complete  in  all  the  will  of  God."  Seek  to  be 
like  Him  whose  name  you  bear ;  who  said,  "  I  delight  to 
do  thy  will ;  thy  law  is  in  my  heart."  "  My  meat  is  to 
do  the  will  of  Him  that  sent  me,  and  to  finish  his  work." 
Rest  not  in  profession.  Remember  the  words  of  our  Lord 
Jesus  :  "  Not  every  one  that  saith.  Lord,  Lord,  shall  enter 
into  the  kingdom  of  God,  but  he  that  doeth  the  will  of  my 
Father  who  is  in  heaven."^ 

Guard  against  the  soul-destroying  delusion,  that  it  is 
possible  to  live  both  to  the  lusts  of  men  and  to  the  will  of 
God  at  the  same  time.  The  attempt  has  often  been  made  ; 
but  the  thing  is  impossible.  Before  it  succeed,  truth  and 
falsehood,  light  and  darkness,  good  and  evil,  must  become 
one.  "No  man  can  serve  two  masters;  for  either  he  will 
hate  the  one  and  love  the  other,  or  else  he  will  hold  to  the 
one  and  despise  the  other.  Ye  cannot  serve  God  and 
mammon.  Love  not  the  world,  nor  the  things  that  are  in 
the  world  ;"  for  if  ye  do,  the  love  of  the  Father  is  not  in 
you.     "  The  friendship  of  the  world  is  enmity  with  God." 

The  wisdom  of  taking  the  course  recommended,  is  de- 
monstrable already  to  all  whose  senses  are  in  any  measure 
"  exercised  to  discern  between  good  and  evil."  Yet  a  little 
while,  and  it  will  be  made  palpable  to  all  mankind.     "  All 

1  Eph.  V.  17.  2  jolm  vii.  17. 

3  Ps.  xl.  8  ;  Jolin  iv.  34  ;  Matt.  vii.  21. 


22  EXHOETATION  TO  HOLINESS.  [DISC.  XVII, 

that  is  in  the  world,  the  lust  of  the  flesh,  and  the  lust  of  the 
eyes,  and  the  pride  of  life,  is  not  of  the  Father,  but  is  of  the 
world.  And  the  world  passeth  away,  and  the  lust  thereof : 
but  he  that  doeth  the  will  of  God  abideth  for  ever."  ^ 

Our  prayer  for  you,  brethren,  -is,  that  "  the  God  of 
peace,  who  brought  again  from  the  dead  our  Lord  Jesus, 
that  great  Shepherd  of  the  sheep,  by  the  blood  of  the  ever- 
lasting covenant,  may  make  you  perfect  in  every  good  work, 
working  in  you  that  which  is  pleasing  in  his  sight."  And 
let  this  be  the  prayer  of  each  of  you  for  himself  :  "  Teach 
me  to  do  thy  will,  for  thou  art  my  God ;  thy  Spirit  is  good, 
lead  me  to  the  land  of  uprightness.  Quicken  me,  O  Lord, 
for  thy  name's  sake  ;  for  thy  righteousness'  sake  bring  me 
out  of  trouble  :  And  of  thy  mercy  cut  off  my  enemies,  and 
destroy  all  them  that  afflict  my  soul :  for  I  am  thy  servant." 
Yes,  say,  "  Truly,  O  Lord,  I  am  thy  servant,  the  son  of 
thy  handmaid  :  thou  hast  loosed  my  bonds  ;"  and  "  I  will 
walk  at  liberty  ;  for  I  seek  thy  precepts."  "  Depart  from 
me,  ye  evil-doers,  for  I  ivill  keep  the  commandments  of  my 
God."  2 

§  2.  The  means  for  obtaining  the  practical  object;  the  arming 
themselves  loith  the  thought,  "  He  that  suffered  in  the 
ffesh  hath  ceased  from  sinP 

Having  thus  shown  at  once  the  course  which  Christians 
ought  to  avoid  and  the  course  which  they  ought  to  follow, 
I  now  proceed  to  consider  the  second  part  of  the  second 
great  division  of  the  text — the  view  which  the  apostle  gives 
us  of  the  means  which  Christians  must  employ  to  enable 

1  Matt.  V.  24;  1  John  ii.  15-17.  "  Perdit  quod  vivit,  qui  .te  Deum  non 
diligit  ;  qui  curat  vivere,  non  propter  te,  Domine,  niMl  est  et  pro  nihilo 
est ;  qui  tibi  vivere  recusat  mortuus  est ;  qui  tibi  non  sapit,  desipit. " — 

AUGUSTINUS. 

2  Heb.  xiii.  20,  21 ;  Ps.  cxliii.  10-12,  cxvi.  16,  cxix.  45,  115. 


PART  II  ]  MEANS  FOR  OBTAINING  THE  OBJECT.  23 

them  to  avoid  the  first  of  tliese  courses,  which  is  natural  to 
all  men,  and  to  which  the  Christian  is  strongly  solicited  and 
urged  both  from  within  and  without ;  and  to  follow  the 
second,  which  nothing  but  the  new  mind,  rising  out  of  the 
belief  of  Christian  truth  under  divine  influence,  will  induce 
any  man  to  follow,  and  to  depart  from  which  the  Christian 
is  exposed  to  many  and  powerful  temptations,  both  internal 
and  external.  "  Arm  yourselves  with  this  thought,  that  he 
who  has  suffered  in  the  flesh  has  been  made  to  i*est  from 
sin."  Arm  yourselves  with  this  thought,  "  in  order  to  your 
no  longer  living  the  rest  of  your  time  in  the  flesh  to  the  lusts 
of  men,  but  to  the  will  of  God." 

The  language  here  is  figurative,  but  by  no  means  obscure. 
It  very  clearly  and  impressively  indicates  that  the  course 
recommended  is  a  course  full  of  difficulty  and  obstructions. 
It  is  a  struggle,  a  conflict.  There  are  powerful  influences, 
both  from  within  and  from  without,  constantly  put  forth  to 
induce  the  Christian  to  "  live  his  time  in  the  flesh  to  the 
lusts  of  men,"  and  to  prevent  him  from  living  his  time  in 
the  flesh  to  the  will  of  God.  This  is  the  great  object  which 
his  spiritual  enemies  are  constantly  endeavouring  to  gain. 
"  The  flesh  lusteth  against  the  spirit ;"  the  world,  by  its 
allurements  and  terrors,  endeavours  to  make  the  Christian 
"  walk  according  to  its  course,"  to  "  be  conformed  to  it" 
by  living  to  its  "  deceitful  lusts,"  and  to  prevent  him  from 
being  "  transformed  by  the  renewing  of  his  mind,  so  as  to 
prove  the  good  and  acceptable  and  perfect  will  of  God  ;" 
and  this,  too,  is  the  great  end  of  all  the  machinations  and 
assaults,  "  the  wiles"  and  "  the  fiery  darts"  of  that  power- 
ful and  crafty  and  malignant  adversary,  the  Devil,  who  is 
ever  seeking  to  bring  back  the  rescued  captives  to  his 
debasing  slavery,  or  to  retard  them  in,  disable  them  for,  the 
service  of  their  new  Master — the  object  equally  of  his  terror 
and  his  hatred.    The  Christian  must  fight  his  way,  and  has 


24  EXHORTATION  TO  HOLINESS.  [DISC.  XVII. 

need  of  "  the  armour  of  righteousness"  before  and  behind, 
"  on  the  right  hand  and  the  left."  ^ 

The  combat  is  a  spiritual  one,  and  the  armour  must 
correspond  with  it.  Truth  lodged  in  the  mind,  by  being 
understood  and  believed,  and  meditated  on,  is  the  grand 
means  of  warfare,  both  defensive  and  offensive,  with  error 
and  sin,  and  with  those  malignant  spiritual  agencies  which  are 
constantly  endeavouring  to  lead  us  into  error  and  sin.  It  is 
by  arming  ourselves  with  true  thoughts,  that  the  Christian 
is  prepared  with  determined  resolution  to  stand  and  to  with- 
stand. His  "good  fight"  is  "  the  fight  of  faith ;"  his  sword 
the  word  of  God ;  his  shield  the  confidence,  and  his  helmet 
the  hope,  which  that  word  believed  excites  in  the  soul. 
"  The  word  of  truth  "  is  "  the  armour  of  righteousness." 

Every  part  of  the  doctrine  of  Christ  may  be  turned  to 
account  in  the  spiritual  warfare.  In  resisting  attempts  to 
bring  him  again  into  bondage,  and  in  fighting  his  way  for- 
ward to  perfect  holiness  and  eternal  life,  there  are  many 
tliouglits  which  the  Christian  will  find  available  for  armour, 
both  for  attack  and  defence.  There  is,  indeed,  no  scriptural 
truth  which  may  not  be  turned  to  account  in  this  way;  and 
our  blessed  Lord  has,  in  his  conflict  with  the  great  adver- 
sary, as  recorded  in  the  gospel,  set  us  an  example  in  this 
respect,  that  we  may  follow  his  steps.  The  Captain  of 
salvation  has  there  shown  his  soldiers  what  their  weapons 
are,  and  how  to  use  them.^ 

But  there  is  ONE  thought  which  the  apostle  recommends 
to  the  Christians  to  whom  he  was  writing,  as  pre-eminently 
useful  as  armour  in  this  spiritual  conflict.  "Arm  yourselves 
with  this  same  thought :  He  that  hath  suffered  in  the  flesh 
has  been  made  to  rest  from  sin."  Let  this  thought  sink 
deep  into  your  hearts  by  being  well  understood  and  firmly 

1  Gal.  V.  17  ;  Rom.  xii.  2  ;  Eph.  vi.  11,  16 ;  2  Cor.  vi.  7. 

2  Matt.  iv.  3-10. 


PART  II.]  MEANS  FOR  OBTAINING  THE  OBJECT.  25 

believed ;  let  it  be  habitually  present  to  your  minds  by  being 
often  meditated  on  ;  and  you  will  find  it  a  most  powerful 
means  of  enabling  you,  in  opposition  to  all  temptations  of 
whatever  kind,  during  the  rest  of  your  time  in  the  flesh,  to 
live  not  to  the  lusts  of  men,  but  to  the  will  of  God.  This 
truth  understood,  believed,  and  reflected  on,  will  be  found 
the  grand  instrumental  means,  so  far  as  you  are  concerned, 
of  Christian  sanctification. 

(1.)   The  thought  explained. 

To  illustrate  this  part  of  our  subject,  it  is  necessary  that 
we  should  satisfactorily  reply  to  two  questions  :  What  is 
this  thought  ?     And  how  is  it  fitted  to  serve  its  purpose  ? 

There  is  the  greater  need  for  attending  to  the  first  of 
these  questions,  as  the  language  is  so  general  as  that,  taken 
by  itself,  it  is  somewhat  equivocal,  and  even  enigmatical. 
"  He  that  has  suffered  in  the  flesh  has  been  made  to  rest 
from  sin."^  What  is  the  precise  meaning  folded  up  in 
these  words,  to  which  so  powerful  an  energy  is  ascribed  ? 

The  words  have  been  considered  by  some  interpreters  as 
a  statement  of  the  salutary  influence  of  bodily  affliction,  or 
external  calamity  generally,  in  promoting  moral  improve- 
ment. In  their  most  general  sense,  that  he  who  sustains 
bodily  or  external  calamities  is  made  to  cease  or  rest  from 
sin,  it  is  plainly  not  true  without  very  great  limitations.  In 
many  cases,  affliction,  instead  of  producing  cessation  from  sin, 
exasperates  the  depraved  principles.  The  case  of  Ahaz  is 
no  singular  one,  who  "  in  the  time  of  his  distress  trespassed 
yet  more  against  the  Lord."  When  the  wrath  of  God  came 
upon  the  Israelites,  "  for  all  this  they  sinned  still  the  more." 

^  Bengel  explains  ^ri'7rauTa^  as  equivalent  to  "  immunitatem  nactiis  est ;" 
and  Winer  says,  that  though  usually  translated  "peccare  desiit,"  it  may 
also  be  taken  passively,  "he  has  rest  from  sin." — Gram.  P.  iii.  sec.  40, 
p.  207. 


26  EXHORTATION  TO  HOLINESS.  [DISC.  XVII. 

The  cessation  from  sin  produced  merely  by  affliction,  is  but 
partial  and  temporary.  On  another  occasion  besides  that 
just  referred  to,  "  when  God  slew  the  Israelites,"  it  is  said, 
"  Then  they  sought  him,  and  they  returned  and  inquired 
early  after  God;"  but  it  is  added,  "yet  their  heart  was  not 
right  with  him."  And  it  is  of  these  very  persons  that  it  is 
said,  "  How  often  did  they  provoke  him  in  the  wilderness, 
and  tempt  him  in  the  desert!"  Unaccompanied  by  divine 
teaching,  both  by  the  word  and  the  Spirit,  mere  affliction 
will  make  no  man  cease  from  sin.  "  Blessed  is  the  man 
whom  thou  chastenest,  and  teachest  him  out  of  thy  law  : " 
this  is  the  afflicted  man,  the  only  afflicted  man,  to  whom 
God  gives  "  rest  from  the  days  of  adversity."^  Even 
limited  to  the  sufferings  of  the  regenerate,  the  statement  is 
at  once  exaggerated  and  inapposite.  Afflictions  are  indeed 
most  useful  to  true  Christians.  They  "try  and  purify" 
them,  and  "  make  them  white."  Their  design  is,  and  to  a 
certain  extent  it  is  gained,  to  "  make  them  partakers  of  the 
divine  holiness ; "  ^  but  surely  it  cannot  be  said  of  every, 
it  cannot  be  said  of  any,  afflicted  Christian  in  the  present 
state,  that  he  has  "ceased  from  sin:"  and  though  the 
thought  that  affliction  is  designed,  and  under  divine  in- 
fluence is  calculated,  to  mortify  sin,  is  well  fitted  to  reconcile 
a  Christian  to  suffering,  it  is  difflcult  to  see  how  it  is  pre- 
eminently fitted  to  enable  him  to  "  live  the  rest  of  his  time 
not  to  the  lusts  of  men,  but  to  the  will  of  God." 

The  suffering  here  referred  to  is  not  suffering  in  the  flesh 
generally ;  it  is  the  kind  of  suffering  that  the  apostle  is 
speaking  of  in  the  text  and  context :  "  suffering  in  the  flesh 
for  sin,"  even  unto  death.  It  was  thus  that  Christ  suffered 
in  the  flesh :  he  "  suffered  for  sins,"  and  he  so  suffered  as  to 
be  put  to  death,  or  "  become  dead  in  the  flesh."  I  have  no 
doubt  the  expression,  "  He  that  hath  suffered  in  the  flesh," 

1  Ps.  Ixxviii.  32,  34,  37,  40,  xciv.  12,  13.  ^  ggb.  xii.  10. 


PART  II.]  MEANS  FOR  OBTAINING  THE  OBJECT,  27 

refers  to  our  Lord ;  but  I  have  as  little,  that  it  does  not 
refer  to  our  Lord  alone.  It  is  said  that  Pie  suffered  in  the 
flesh  "for  us,"  that  is,  for  believers,  not  only  for  our  benefit, 
but  in  our  room.  He  suffered  the  just  in  the  room  of  the 
unjust.  When  he  suffered  "  for  sin,"  we  suffered  in  him  : 
his  flesh  was  as  it  were  our  flesh ;  and  his  sufferings  in  that 
flesh  were  as  it  were  our  sufferings.  If  he  died  in  our 
room,  then,  according  to  the  apostle's  reasoning,  we  died 
too,  we  died  in  him.-^  "  Pie  that  has  suffered  in  the  flesh," 
is  descriptive  of  every  man  who  by  the  faith  of  the  gospel 
is  united  to  Christ  as  having  died — every  man  who  is  "in 
him." 

I  apprehend  that  the  apostle  intentionally  used  a  con- 
siderably indefinite  expression,  for  the  purpose  of  including 
both  Christ  and  those  who  are  Christ's,  very  much  in  the 
same  way  as  his  beloved  brother  Paul,  when — in  the  sixth 
chapter  of  the  Epistle  to  the  Romans,  verse  seventh,  illus- 
trating the  same  subject,  the  necessary  connection  between 
the  atonement  and  the  sanctification  of  those  who  are 
personally  interested  in  the  atonement — he  says,  "  He  that 
is  dead,"  that  is,  has  died,  died  for  sin,  "  is  free  from  sin." 
"  This  thing,"  to  employ  the  words  of  the  Apostle  John, 
"is  true,  in  Him  and  in  us."  The  declaration,  He  that  has 
suffered  in  the  flesh  has,  in  consequence  of  his  sufferings, 
been  made  to  rest  from  sin,  is  one  applicable,  and,  if  we 
do  not  much  mistake,  intended  to  be  applied  by  the  apostle, 
both  to  Christ  and  to  Christians.  It  is  true  of  them  both, 
though  with  some  points  of  diversity  of  meaning  ;  and  the 
thought,  whether  in  reference  to  him  or  to  themselves,  is 
one  which  is  well  fitted  to  promote  personal  holiness,  in  lead- 
ing Christians  to  avoid  all  sins,  and  attend  to  all  duties — 
not  living  to  the  lusts  of  men,  but  to  the  will  of  God. 

This  is  "  the  same  thought"  which  the  apostle  had  un- 
1  2  Cor.  V.  14. 


28  EXHORTATION  TO  HOLINESS.  [DISC.  XVII. 

folded  largely  in  the  close  of  the  third  chapter,  and  briefly 
referred  to  in  the  first  verse  of  this  chapter.  Christ  suffered 
to  death  in  human  nature,  as  the  expiatory  victim  of  our 
sins,  in  our  room,  and  we  suffered  and  died  in  him  :  we 
Christians,  we  believers,  being,  in  consequence  of  our  faith, 
viewed  as  identified  with  him ;  as  having  done  what  he  did, 
as  having  suffered  what  he  suffered. 

Now  let  us  look  at  the  thought,  first  in  reference  to 
Christ,  and  then  in  reference  to  Christians  ;  and  let  us  see 
how,  in  both  views  of  it,  it  is  well  fitted  to  "arm"  the 
Christian  so  that  he  may  no  longer  live  the  rest  of  his  time 
in  the  flesh  to  the  lusts  of  men,  but  to  the  will  of  God. 

(2.)   The  tJiought  viewed  as  referring  to  Christ. 

Let  us  look  at  the  thought  in  reference  to  Christ.  "  He 
that  hath  suffered  in  the  flesh,"  that  is,  for  sins,  "  has  been 
made  to  rest  from  sin."  Christ  suffered  in  the  flesh  for 
sin ;  he  has  been  made  to  rest  from  sin  ;  and  his  being 
made  to  rest  from  sin  is  the  consequence  of  his  having 
suffered  in  the  flesh  for  sin. 

We  have  had  an  opportunity,  in  a  foregoing  discourse,  of 
directing  your  attention  to  our  Lord's  sufferings  in  human 
nature.  They  began  with  his  birth,  and  ended  only  at  his 
death.  All  these  sufferings  were  sufferings  for  sin.  "  God 
made  to  meet  on  him  the  iniquities  of  us  all ;"  exaction  was 
made  for  these  iniquities,  and  He,  the  appointed  victim, 
answered  the  exaction.  He  had  no  rest  after  being  "  made 
of  a  woman,  made  under  the  law,"  till  in  his  obediential 
sufferings  to  the  death  he  had  made  full  expiation  of  the 
sins  laid  on  him.^ 

But  having  done  so,  he  has  obtained  rest  from  sin.  On 
the  cross  he  exclaimed,  "It  is  finished;"  and  so  it  was. 
Sin,  armed  by  the  sanction  of  the  law,  gave  him  no  rest  till 
1  Isa.  liii.  6,  7 ;  Gral.  iii.  4. 


PART  II.]  MEANS  FOR  OBTAINING  THE  OBJECT.  29 

it  laid  him  in  a  bloody,  dishonoured  grave ;  but  in  doing 
this,  it  utterly  and  for  ever  lost  all  power  to  disquiet  him. 
It  could  not  even  retain  him  in  the  grave  where  it  had 
laid  him.  The  debt  being  fully  paid,  the  surety  was  set 
at  liberty.  He  is  henceforward  a  stranger  to  suffering  in 
all  its  forms.  He  can  no  longer  suffer,  he  can  no  longer 
die.  He  has  entered  into  his  rest;  and  that  "rest  is 
glorious."  He  is  "  sitting,"  the  posture  of  repose,  "  at  the 
right  hand  of  the  Majesty  on  high ;  angels  and  princi^^alities 
and  powers  being  subject  to  him."  Instead  of  the  incessant 
toils  of  his  humbled  life  on  earth  as  the  victim  of  sin,  there 
is  the  uninterrupted  repose  of  eternity  ;  to  the  powerlessness^ 
of  death  to  which  sin  reduced  him,  has  succeeded  "  all  power 
over  all  flesh,  all  power  in  heaven  and  earth  ;"  in  the  room 
of  the  days  of  a  mortal  man,  few  and  full  of  trouble,  has 
come  "  length  of  days  for  ever  and  ever  ; "  he  who  was  the  ] 
man  of  sorrows  and  acquainted  with  griefs,  has  become 
"  most  blessed  for  ever  ;"  and  the  soul  which  was  exceeding  / 
sorrowful  even  to  death,  is  "made  exceeding  glad  with 
Jehovah's  countenance."  ^ 

This  rest  from  sin  not  only  followed  the  sufferings  for 
sin,  but  was,  properly  speaking,  their  effect.  It  Avas  by  his 
sufferina;  for  sin  that  he  obtained  rest  from  sin.  "  Havintj 
died  for  sin,  he  was  freed  from  sin."  The  reason  why  death 
can  have  no  more  dominion  over  him  is,  that  he  died  for 
sin  once,  and  by  that  one  death  completely  answered  all  the 
demands  of  law  and  justice  on  him  as  the  surety  of  sinners. 
The  law  has  nothing  further  to  exact  from  him ;  and  the 
immortal  state  of  life,  and  rest,  and  power,  and  dominion, 
and  glory,  and  blessedness,  is  to  be  considered  not  only 
as  the  natural  expression  of  the  infinite  complacency  of 
Jehovah,  "well  pleased  for  his  righteousness'  sake,"  delighted 
with  that  love  of  righteousness  and  hatred  of  iniquity  mani- 

1  1  Pet.  iii.  2 ;  John  xvii.  2 ;  Matt,  xxviii.  18. 


30  EXHORTATION  TO  HOLINESS.  [DISC.  XVII. 

fested  in  the  voluntary,  vicarious,  penal  sufferings  of  his 
incarnate  Son,  for  the  vindication  of  his  holy,  just,  and 
good  law,  and  the  restoration  to  immortal  holy  happiness  of 
an  innumerable  multitude  of  otherwise  hopelessly  depraved 
and  miserable  human  beings :  it  is  to  be  viewed  also  as  the 
execution  of  the  stipulations  of  the  eternal  covenant,  that 
when  he  had  made  his  soul  an  offering  for  sin,  he  should 
see  his  seed,  prolong  his  days,  and  the  pleasure  of  the  Lord 
should  prosper  in  his  hand  ;  he  should  see  of  the  travail  of 
his  soul,  so  as  to  be  satisfied  ;  he  should,  through  the  know- 
ledge of  himself,  justify  many ;  he  should  have  the  great 
as  his  portion,  the  strong  for  his  spoil;  because  he  had 
poured  out  his  soul  unto  death,  having  been  numbered  with 
the  transgressors,  and  having  borne  the  sin  of  many.^  He 
who  suffered  to  death  in  the  ilesh  for  sin  has  been  raised 
from  the  dead,  and  exalted  to  an  immortal  state  of  absolute 
security  from  suffering,  and  of  the  highest  enjoyment,  and 
a  station  of  the  highest  honour  and  authority  ;  and  this 
resurrection  and  this  exaltation  are  the  results,  the  effects, 
of  his  penal,  expiatory  sufferings.  Such  seems  to  me  the 
import  of  the  thought,  "  He  that  hath  suffered  hath  been 
made  to  rest  from  sin,"  viewed  in  reference  to  our  Lord.^ 

(3.)   The  thought  vieived  as  referring  to  Christians. 

Let  us  now  look  at  the  thought  in  reference  to  Christians. 
When  Christ  suffered  in  the  flesh  for  sins,  it  was  for  them, 
in  their  room.  They  of  course  suffered  in  him  ;  and  it  is 
true  in  a  very  important  sense,  that  they,  having  thus  suf- 
fered for  sin  in  him,  are  made  to  rest  from  sin. 

Christians  are  very  frequently,  especially  by  the  Apostle 

Paul,  represented  as  identified  with  Christ.     In  consequence 

of  the  faith  of  the  truth  respecting  his  person  and  work, 

they  are  brought  into  so  intimate  a  relation  to  him,  that  they 

1  Isa.  liii.  10-12.  2  gee  note  B. 


PART  II.]  MEANS  FOR  OBTAINING  THE  OBJECT.  31 

are  said  to  be  "  in  him,"  one  with  him.  This  does  not  refer 
to  that  union  of  mind  and  heart,  of  sentiment,  affection, 
will,  and  operation,  which  subsists  between  Christians  and 
Christ,  and  which  is  produced  by  the  Spirit  through  the 
instrumentality  of  the  word  ;  that  is  rather  Christ's  being 
in  them,  than  their  being  in  Christ :  it  is  the  being  so  con- 
nected with  Christ,  as  that  they  are  treated  by  God  as  if 
what  he  did  and  suffered  had  been  done  and  suffered  by 
them  personally.  All  who  are  united  to  Christ  by  that 
faith  of  which  profession  is  made  in  baptism,  are  by  the 
apostle  represented  as  united  to  him  in  his  death,  that  is,  as 
having  died  in  him ;  in  his  burial,  that  is,  as  having  been 
buried  in  him  ;  in  his  resurrection,  that  is,  as  having  risen 
again  in  him  ;  in  his  life  and  glory,  that  is,  as  living  and 
reigning  in  him  with  God  in  heaven.  "  Ye  are,"  says  he 
to  the  Colossians,  "  dead,"  or  have  died,  that  is,  in  Christ ; 
and  so,  if  you  live,  though  you  have  died,  "  your  life  is  hid 
with  Christ  in  God."  And  of  himself  he  says,  what  is  not 
peculiar  to  him  as  an  apostle,  but  common  to  him  with  all 
Christians,  "  I  am  crucified  with  Christ."  When  he  died, 
he  died  for  them.  It  was  their  sins,  not  his  own,  that  he 
bore  to  the  tree.^ 

When  we  say  then  of  Christians,  that  they  have  suffered 
in  the  flesh  for  sin,  we  mean  that  by  a  divine  constitution 
they  have  as  deep  an  interest  in  Christ's  sufferings  in  the 
flesh  for  sin,  as  if  they  themselves  had  undergone  them. 
They  are  so  interested  in  them  as  to  be  made  to  rest  from 
sin  in  consequence  of  them.  They  are  delivered  from  the 
condemning  power  of  sin,  and  they  are  delivered  from  the 
reigning  power  of  sin ;  and  they  are  delivered  from  both, 
not  in  consequence  of  their  having  suffered  for  sin  in  the 
flesh,  in  their  own  persons,  but  in  consequence  of  their 
having  become  by  faith  individually  interested  in  those 
1  Rom.  vi.  3-5 ;  Col.  iii.  3  ;  Gal.  ii.  20. 


32  EXHORTATION  TO  HOLINESS.  [DISC.  XVII. 

sufferings  for  sin  in  the  flesh  which  were  inflicted  on  the 
person  of  their  divinely  appointed  substitute. 

Every  human  being  is  a  sinner,  and  every  sinner  is  con- 
denaned  on  account  of  his  sin.  The  curse  of  God  lies  on 
him,  and  must  for  ever  rest  on  him,  till  he  become  personally 
connected  witli  him  who  suffered  the  just  in  the  room  of 
the  unjust.  Till  then,  the  sinner  can  obtain  no  rest,  no 
security  from  sin  and  its  penal  consequences.  Armed  with 
the  power  of  the  law,  sin  keeps  fast  hold  of  him,  ready  at 
any  moment  to  produce  death,  casting  the  body  into  the 
grave,  plunging  the  soul  into  the  abyss  of  perdition. 

From  this  tremendous  state  all  who  are  in  Christ  have 
obtained  deliverance.  "  There  is  no  condemnation  to  them 
who  are  in  Christ  Jesus  ;"  and  the  reason  is  very  obvious. 
They  are  in  him  who  was  condemned  in  their  stead,  and 
suffered  that  to  which  they  were  condemned.  They  are 
redeemed  from  the  curse ;  for  the  righteous  One,  their 
divinely  appointed  substitute,  has  become  a  curse  for  them. 
Who  can  lay  anything  to  their  charge  ?  Christ  died,  died  for 
them.  "  In  him  they  have  redemption  through  his  blood, 
the  forgiveness  of  sins,  according  to  the  riches  of  God's 
grace."  "  In  him,"  the  beloved  One,  they  are  "  accepted, 
being  reconciled  in  the  body  of  his  flesh  by  death."  "  His 
blood  cleanseth  them  from  all  sin."  So  that  they  are  "  dead 
to  the  law,"  to  its  condemning  sentence,  "  through  the  body 
of  Christ;"  they  are  "in  him  made  the  righteousness  of 
God,"  in  consequence  of  "Him  who  knew  no  sin  being 
by  God  made  sin  in  tlieir  room;"  "sinners,  ungodly"  in 
themselves,  they  are  "  justified  freely  by  His  grace,  through 
the  redemption  that  is  in  Christ  Jesus,"  who  is  "  set  forth 
a  propitiation  through  faith  in  his  blood," — having  been 
"  delivered  for  their  offences,  and  raised  again  for  their 
justification."^  The  unbeliever,  unconnected  with  Christ, 
1  Rom.  viii.  1-34 ;  1  John  i.  7  ;  2  Cor.  v.  21  ;  Rom.  iii.  24,  iv.  25. 


PART  II.]     MEANS  FOR  OBTAINING  THE  OBJECT.         33 

and  therefore  unpardoned,  is  never  safe.  Guilt,  like  the 
avenrrer  of  blood,  is  constantly  pursuing  him,  and  at  any 
moment  may  overtake  him  and  take  his  life.  There  is  no 
rest,  no  peace,  no  security  to  the  sinner  who  is  not  "in 
him"  who  has  suffered  and  been  made  to  rest.  But  he 
who  by  faith  is  '"  in  Christ,"  has  entered  the  city  of  refuge 
and  is  safe  within  its  walls  ;  and,  as  our  High  Priest  never 
dies,  to  secure  his  safety  he  must  remain  within  its  walls 
for  ever. 

But  he  who  by  faith  is  interested  in  Christ's  suffering  in 
the  flesh  for  sin,  as  if  it  had  been  his  own  suffering,  being 
indeed  suffering  in  his  room,  is  made  to  rest  from  sin,  not 
only  in  its  condemning,  but  in  its  reigning  power.  "  Sin 
shall  not  have  dominion  over  him  "  who  is  in  Christ  Jesus ; 
for,  in  consequence  of  Christ's  suffering  in  the  flesh  for  sin, 
and  his  personal  interest  in  his  suffering,  he  is  "  not  under 
the  law,  Ibut  under  grace."  He  is  united  to  Christ  not  only 
as  one  who  was  the  victim  of  sin,  as  one  who  bore  his  sins, 
but  to  him  as  one  who  has  borne  away  his  sins  ;  to  Christ 
not  only  as  one  who  was  under  the  curse,  but  to  Christ  as 
now,  for  the  manner  in  which  he  sustained  that  load,  the 
object  of  the  highest  complacency  of  his  Father.  He  is 
regarded  by  God  with  a  complacency  like  that  with  which 
the  Saviour  is  regarded ;  and  that  is  manifested  in  the  com- 
munication of  "  the  spirit  of  life  which  is  in  Christ  Jesus," 
and  "  delivers  him  from  the  law  of  sin  and  of  death."  And 
this  spirit  comes  not,  as  "  a  wayfaring  man,  to  tarry  for  a 
night,"  but  to  take  up  his  permanent  residence  in  a  temple 
appropriated  to  him,  and  which  he  will  in  due  time  make 
every  way  suitable  for  his  everlasting  dwelling-place.-^ 

There  is  thus  absolute  security  obtained  by  every  person 
who  is  by  faith  united  to  Christ,  and  thus  personally  inte- 
rested in  his  suffering  in  the  flesh,  of  being  made  completely 
^  Rom.  vi.  14,  viii.  2. 

VOL.  IIT.  C 


34  EXHORTATION  TO  HOLINESS.  [DISC.  XVII. 

to  rest  from  sin,  of  being  brought  into  a  state  where  there 
shall  be  no  law  in  the  members  to  war  against  the  law  of 
the  mind, — where  tliere  shall  be  no  striving  of  the  flesh 
against  the  Spirit, — where  the  Spirit  shall  rule  unopposed, 
and  the  law  of  the  mind  shall  have  free  course,  and  be 
glorified, — where  the  Christian  will  no  more  sigh  out, 
"Wretched  man  that  I  am,  who  will  deliver  me?"  but 
shall  for  ever  sing,  "I  thank  God,"  wdio  hath  delivered 
me,  completely  delivered  me,  "  through  Christ  Jesus."' 
"Thanks  be  to  God  who  giveth  me  the  victory."^  Then 
will  the  Christian  be  made  completely  to  "rest  from  sin." 

That  this  second  kind  of  rest  from  sin  is  as  really  as  the 
first  the  fruit  of  the  atonement,  the  consequence  of  Christ 
suffering  for  sin  in  the  flesh,  and  our  being  united  to  him 
as  our  surety  and  representative,  is  very  clearly  stated  by 
the  Apostle  Paul  in  these  important,  but  we  are  afraid  very 
generally  misapprehended,  or  at  any  rate  very  imperfectly 
understood,  words  :  "  Our  old  man  was  crucified  with  him, 
that  the  body  of  sin  might  be  destroyed,  that  henceforth  we 
should  not  serve  sin  ; "  ^  that  is,  '  In  the  atoning  death  of 
the  Son  of  God,  is  laid  a  foundation  of  absolute  security 
for  the  complete  sanctification  of  all  who  are  interested  in 
its  saving  power,  by  the  faith  of  the  gospel.' 

(4.)    The  thought  vieiced  as  a  piece  of  Christian  armour — the 
instrumental  means  of  sanctification. 

Having  thus  attempted  to  explain,  both  in  reference  to 
Christ  and  to  Christians,  the  thought,  "  He  that  hath  suf- 
fered in  the  flesh  has  been  made  to  rest  from  sin,"  it  only 
remains  that  we  endeavour  to  show  how  this  thought  is  fitted 
to  serve  the  purpose  of  spiritual  armour ;  or,  in  other  words, 
how  the  truth  as  to  the  Saviour's  accepted  atonement,  and 
the  interest  which  believers  have  in  it,  is  fitted,  in  opposition 
1  Rom.  \\i.  24,  25.  2  Rom.  vi.  6. 


PART  II.]     MEANS  FOR  OBTAINING  THE  OBJECT.  35 

to  all  opposing  influences,  to  be  a  prevailing  motive  to  the 
cultivation  of  practical  holiness,  to  the  "  not  living  the  rest 
of  their  time  in  the  flesh  to  the  lusts  of  men,  but  to  the  will 
of  God."  The  subject  is  a  wide  and  important  one.  It  is 
not  a  particularly  difficult  one  ;  but  from  its  very  nature,  it 
requires  close  attention  of  mind  in  order  to  be  distinctly 
understood. 

The  thought  with  which  the  apostle  calls  Christians  to 
arm  themselves,  shows  that  that  holiness  in  all  conversation, 
that  living  not  according  to  the  lusts  of  men,  but  to  the 
will  of  God,  to  which  he  exhorts  them,  is  not  an  impossible 
thing.  Man  is  a  depraved  being ;  viewed  in  his  relations 
to  God,  an  entirely  depraved  being.  "  In  him,  that  is,  in 
his  flesh,"  in  him  as  he  is  by  nature,  "  there  dwells  no 
good  thing."  ^  What  God  requires  of  him  is  in  the  highest 
degree  reasonable,  and  needs  no  physical  faculty,  either 
intellectual  or  active,  to  its  performance,  which  man  does 
not  possess.  But  he  labours  under  a  spiritual  disinclination 
to  yield  that  kind  and  measure  of  obedience  which  God 
requires,  most  criminal  indeed,  but  still  by  all  but  divine 
influence  invincible.  And  as  man  is  already  criminal,  has 
already  incurred  the  divine  displeasure,  it  obviously  seems 
impossible,  if  some  means  are  not  employed  to  alter  man's 
relations  to  the  divine  government,  that  God,  in  consistency 
either  with  his  wisdom,  his  holiness,  his  justice,  his  faithful- 
ness, ay,  or  his  goodness,  taking  a  wide  view  of  the  subject, 
can  put  forth  that  influence  on  the  sinner  s  mind  that  is 
necessary  to  incline  him  to  true  holiness ;  that  is,  in  other 
words,  can  confer  on  the  proper  object  of  his  judicial  dis- 
pleasure what  is  the  most  decided  manifestation  that  a 
person  is  an  object  of  his  peculiar  favour. 

The  united  wisdom  and  power  of  men  and  angels  could 
never  have  devised  and  executed  a  plan  for  removing  this 
1  Rom.  vii.  18. 


36  EXHORTATION  TO  HOLINESS.  [DISC  XVII. 

difficulty.  But  the  thought,  '  Christ  has  suffered  In  the 
flesh  for  sins,  in  the  room  of  sinners,  and  has  been  made  to 
rest  from  sin,' — that  thought,  if  understood,  will  be  found  to 
contain  in  it  distinct  intimation,  that  the  apparently  insur- 
mountable obstacles  in  the  way  of  man's  compliance  with 
the  will  of  God  have  been  removed.  Christ,  the  only-be- 
gotten of  God,  standing  in  the  room  of  men,  has  done 
what  they  were  bound  to  do,  suffered  what  they  deserved  to 
suffer, — has  done  more  to  magnify  and  make  honourable  the 
divine  law,  than  either  their  unsinning  obedience,  or  their 
everlasting  destruction  in  consequence  of  their  having 
sinned,  could  have  done.  It  thus  becomes  a  just  thing  in 
God  to  justify  the  ungodly,  to  pardon  sinners,  to  accept 
them  and  treat  them  as  righteous,  and  to  give  them  his 
H0I3'  Spirit  to  quicken  their  dead,  to  sanctify  their  unholy, 
hearts.  Christ's  becoming  a  curse  in  the  room  of  men  thus 
lays  a  foundation  equally  for  "  the  blessing  of  Abraham," 
a  fi'ee  and  full  justification  being  conferred  on  men  ;  and 
their  receiving  "  the  promise  of  the  Spirit  through  faith," 
that  is,  the  promised  Spirit  through  believing.  An  infinite 
atonement  having  been  offered  and  accepted,  God  can,  in 
consistency  with  the  perfections  of  his  character  and  the 
principles  of  his  government,  pardon  the  guilty,  justify  the 
unrighteous,  sanctify  the  unholy.  The  divinely  appointed 
Saviour  has  merit  enough  to  obtain  pardon  for  the  guiltiest ; 
and  on  the  ground  of  this  merit,  he  is  in  possession  of  power 
and  authority  enough  to  send  that  into  the  heart  of  the 
sinner  which  will  overpower  all  his  natural  indisposition  to 
the  will  of  God,  and  lead  him,  in  opposition  to  all  counter- 
acting influences,  to  "  prove  that  good,  and  acceptable,  and 
perfect  will." 

But  this  is  not  all.  The  thought  with  which  the  apostle 
exhorts  Christians  to  arm  themselves,  conveys  to  the  mind 
that  understands  it  the  assurance  not  only  that  the  con- 


PART  II.]  MEANS  FOR  OBTAINING  THE  OBJECT.  37 

formity  to  the  divine  will  enjoined  is  something  that  may 
be  attained,  but  that  it  is  something  that  shall  most  certainly 
be  attained  by  all  believers.     It  intimates  that  every  believer 
is  actually  so  interested  in  the  atonement  that  has  been 
made  in  his  room,  by  Christ  suffering  in  the  flesh  for  sin, 
as  to  have  been  made  to  rest  from  sin.     Having  suffered  in 
Christ,  he  has  entered  with  him  into  his  rest.     His  sins  are 
forgiven.     He  has  received  the  Holy  Spirit,  the  author  of 
true  holiness ;  and  though  the  powers  of  evil  with  which  he 
has  to  struggle,  both  within  and  without,  are  strong  as  well 
as  numerous,  yet  '^  greater  is  He"  in  whom  he  is,  and  He 
"  who  is  in  him,   than   he  who  is  in  the  world."     He  is 
"  washed,  he  is  sanctified,  he  is  justified,  in  the  name  of 
the  Lord  Jesus,  and  by  the  Spirit  of  our  God."     The  con- 
demning power  of  sin,  the  want  of  quickening,  sanctifying 
influences  in  the  heart,  keep  unbelieving  sinners  as  it  were 
hopelessly  bound  in  the  fetters  of  depravity ;  but  to  the 
believer  in  Christ  "  there  is  no  condemnation,"  and  he  also 
has  "the  Spirit  of  life  in  Christ  Jesus;"  so  that  in  him, 
"  God,  by  sending  his  Son  in  the  likeness  of  sinful  flesh, 
and  for  sin,"  that  is,  as  a  sin-offering,  has  "  condemned  sin 
in  the  flesh,"  has  deprived  sin  of  its  reigning  power  over  his 
nature  ;  and  thus  "  the  righteousness  of  the  law  is  fulfilled 
in  him,  not  walking  after  the  flesh,  but  after  the  Spirit,"  ^ 
that  is,  "  not  living  to  the  lusts  of  men,  but  to  the  will  of 
God." 

From  the  nature  of  the  case,  the  security  referred  to  is 
not  a  security  without  reference  to  the  believer's  own  exer- 
tions as  an  intelligent  and  moral  agent ;  it  is  a  security  that 
he  shall  by  divine  influence  be  led  to  use  the  appropriate 
means  of  sanctification,  and  a  security  that  these  means 
shall  not  be  used  by  him  in  vain. 

I  have  only  further  to  remark  here,  that  the  thought  with 
1  Rom.  viii.  3,  4. 


38  EXHORTATION  TO  HOLINESS.  [DISC.  XVII. 

which  the  apostle  calls  Christians  to  arm  themselves,  if 
understood,  brings  before  the  mind  the  most  powerful 
motives  to  that  disconformity  to  the  lusts  of  men,  and  con- 
formity to  the  will  of  God,  to  which  he  exhorts ;  motives 
appealing  to  all  our  strongest  active  principles,  to  gratitude 
and  love,  to  hope  and  fear.  This  remark  admits  of  very 
extended  illustration.  I  must  confine  myself  to  one  or  two 
examples. 

How  powerfully  does  "  this  thought"  dissuade  from  sin 
in  all  its  forms !  In"  how  clear  a  light  does  it  place  the 
excellence  and  obligation  of  the  divine  law ;  and  the  ma- 
lignant nature,  the  destructive  tendency,  and  the  dreadful 
effects  of  moral  evil !  "  The  believer,"  as  Archbishop 
Leighton  says,  "  looking  on  his  Jesus  crucified  for  him,  and 
wounded  for  his  transgressions,  and  taking  in  deep  thoughts 
of  his  spotless  innocency  that  deserved  no  such  thing,  and 
of  his  matchless  love  that  yet  endured  it  all  for  him,  then 
will  he  think,  Shall  I  be  a  friend  to  that  which  was  his 
deadly  enemy  ?  shall  sin  be  sweet  to  me  that  was  so  bitter 
to  him,  and  that  for  my  sake?  Shall  I  ever  have  a  favour- 
able thought  of,  or  lend  a  good  look  to,  them  which  shed 
my  Lord's  blood?  Shall  I  live  in  that  for  which  he  died, 
and  died  to  kill  it  in  me  ?" 

How  obviously  and  powerfully  is  "  this  thought "  calcu- 
lated to  excite  and  strengthen  the  love  of  God,  which  is  the 
source  of  all  true  living  to  his  will !  How  strikingly  are  the 
venerable  and  amiable  excellences  of  the  divine  character 
exhibited  in  the  atonement  of  Christ,  and  its  blessed  effects 
both  to  Him  and  to  those  who  are  united  to  Him  !  How 
great  the  display  of  divine  love  in  Christ's  suffering  for  sins 
in  our  room,  and  in  the  rest  from  sin  that  is  thus  secured 
for  us  ! 

How  great  is  the  encouragement  "  this  thought"  gives 
to  the  performance  of  duty  !     To  borrow  again  the  words 


PART  II.]  MEANS  FOR  OBTAINING  THE  OBJECT.  39 

of  the  good  Arclibisliop  :  "  Our  burden  that  pressed  us  to 
hell  is  taken  off ;  our  chains  that  bound  us  over  to  eternal 
death  are  knocked  off.  Shall  we  not  walk,  shall  we  not 
run,  in  his  ways  ?  How  heavy,  how  unsufferable,  the 
burden  and  yoke  of  which  he  has  eased  us  I  His  yoke  is 
easy,  his  burden  is  light !  O  the  happy  change  !  rescued 
from  the  vilest  slavery,  and  called  to  conformity  and  fellow- 
ship with  the  Son  of  God." 

The  thought  that  brings  all  this  before  the  mind  must  be 
well  fitted  to  arm  it  against  temptation  ;  and  powerful  in 
constraining  us  to  live  not  to  ourselves,  not  to  other  men, 
but  to  God,  who  hath  bought  us  at  so  dear  a  price,  that 
we  may  glorify  him  in  our  souls  and  in  our  bodies,  which 
are  his. 

"  This  thought"  being  in  our  mind,  habitually  in  our 
mind,  is  essential  to  our  sanctification.  We  cannot  be 
sanctified  if  it  be  not  in  our  mind ;  and  if  it  really  be  habi- 
tually in  our  mind,  sanctification  is  a  matter  of  course. 

The  Apostle  Paul,  in  the  first  part  of  the  sixth  chapter  of 
the  Epistle  to  the  Romans,^  has  cast  a  flood  of  light  on  the 
subject  which  we  have  been  considering.  I  shall  give  you 
a  summary  of  his  illustration.  '  All  true  Christians  are 
united  to  Christ,  identified  as  it  were  with  him  ;  united  to 
him  both  in  his  death  and  his  resurrection  ;  united  to  him 
as  having  died,  and  as  having  risen  again  to  an  unending 
life.  His  death  was  a  death  by  sin,  for  sin — a  death  penal, 
vicarious,  expiatory.  We  are  united  to  him  in  that  death. 
It  is  as  if  we  ourselves  had  by  death  made  expiation  for  our 
sins.  His  life  is  a  life  conferred  on  him  by  God,  as  a  token 
that  he  is  fully  satisfied  with  the  expiation  of  sin  made  by 
his  death.  We  are  united  to  him  in  that  life ;  God  regards 
us  as  he  regards  him.  He  who  is  dead,  or  who  has  died, 
that  is,  by  sin, — he  who  in  death  has  expiated  sin, — is  free 
1  Rom.  vi.  1-14. 


40  EXHORTATION  TO  HOLINESS.  [DISC.  XVII. 

from,  is  justified  from,  sin.  Sin  can  no  longer  condemn 
him.  Death,  the  penalty  of  sin,  can  no  longer  reign  over 
him.  It  cannot  be  exacted,  for  it  has  been  already  paid. 
This  is  the  case  with  Christ ;  this  is  the  case  with  us  in 
Christ. 

'  Let  this  thought,  then,  dwell  in  your  minds.  He  died 
once  by  sin,  as  the  victim  of  sin.  lie  lives  for  ever,  raised 
by  God  as  the  token  of  his  satisfaction  with  the  sacrifice  ; 
and  we  are  united  to  him  both  in  this  death  and  in  tliis  life. 
We  have  in  him  died,  been  put  to  death' by  sin  ;  and  we  in 
him  have  been  quickened,  and  made  to  sit  with  him  in  the 
heavenly  places,  made  partakers  of  the  favour  with  which 
God  regards  him,  And  taking  these  views  of  your  state 
and  relation  to  God,  in  consequence  of  your  being  by  faith 
united  to  him  as  your  representative,  both  in  dying  and  in 
rising  again,  "  let  not  sin,  therefore,  reign  in  your  mortal 
body,  that  ye  should  obey  it  in  the  lusts  thereof.  Neither 
yield  ye  your  members  as  instruments  of  unrighteousness 
to  sin  ;  but  yield  yourselves  unto  God,  as  those  who  are 
alive  from  the  dead,  and  your  members  as  instruments  of 
righteousness  unto  God;  for  sin  shall  not  have  dominion 
over  you."  It  reigned  unto  death  over  you  in  the  person 
of  your  Surety ;  but  it  has  done  its  worst  to  him  and  to  you. 
He  lives,  and  so  do  you,  with  a  life  of  which  you  can  never 
be  deprived, — a  holy,  happy  life,  never  to  be  debased  by  the 
slavery  of  sin,  but  entirely  devoted  to  the  service  of  God.' 

Such,  if  we  mistake  not,  is  the  substance  of  the  Apostle 
Paul's  statement ;  and  what  is  it  but  a  somewhat  more 
expanded  expression  of  the  sentiment  in  the  passage  before 
us  1  "  Forasmuch  as  Christ  has  suffered  for  us  in  the  flesh, 
arm  yourselves  with  this  same  thought,  that  he  wlio  has 
suffered  in  the  flesh  has  been  made  to  rest  from  sin,  that  ye 
may  no  longer  live  the  rest  of  your  time  in  the  flesh  to  the 
lusts  of  men,  but  to  the  will  of  God." 


PART  II.]  MEANS  FOE  OBTAINING  THE  OBJECT.  41 

These  illustrations  have  failed  of  their  object,  if  they  have 
not  led  us  into  a  just  appreciation  of  Christianity  as  the  most 
effectual  means  of  morally  improving,  the  only  means  of 
spiritually  transforming,  depraved  man,  and  disclosed  to  us 
the  secret  in  which  its  great  strength  lies  to  make  men 
truly  holy.  The  superior  efficacy  of  Christianity,  as  an 
instrument  of  ameliorating  the  moral  condition  of  man- 
kind, to  every  other  means  employed  for  this  purpose,  vv^ill 
not  be  questioned  by  any  enlightened  and  unprejudiced 
thinker ;  but  the  true  cause  of  this  efficacy,  and  the  manner 
in  which  it  is  put  forth,  are  overlooked  by  most,  misap- 
prehended by  many,  and  rightly  understood  by  compara- 
tively few. 

The  efficacy  of  Christianity,  as  a  transformer  of  human 
character,  is  attributed  by  many  even  of  its  teachers  to  the 
purity,  extent,  and  spirituality  of  its  moral  requisitions,  and 
to  the  plainness  with  which  these  are  stated,  and  the  energy 
with  which  they  are  enforced  in  the  law,  and  by  the  ex- 
ample of  Christ.  It  is  impossible  to  speak  too  highly  of  the 
Christian  morality,  unless  you  exalt  it,  as  has  often  been 
done,  to  the  disparagement  of  the  atoning  sacrifice  and 
quickening  spirit  of  its  author ;  and  we  willingly  admit, 
that  in  the  formation  of  a  christianly  good  character,  the 
law  of  Christ  occupies  an  important  though  still  a  subordi- 
nate place. 

But  he  ill  understands  the  principles  of  human  nature, 
who  expects  that  a  being  such  as  both  revelation  and 
experience  tell  us  that  man  is,  wholly  depraved,  alienated 
from  the  life  of  God,  strongly  inclined  to  forbidden  indul- 
gence, alike  strongly  disinclined  to  the  restraints  of  religious 
and  moral  obligation,  should  merely  by  a  statement  and 
enforcement  of  duty,  however  clear  and  cogent,  be  made  to 
undergo  a  radical  change  in  his  principles  and  habits.  Who 
indeed  does  not  know,  that  the  attempt  to  urge  on  a  person 


42  EXHORTATION  TO  HOLINESS.  [DISC.  XVII. 

a  mode  of  conduct  to  which  he  is  strongly  disinclined,  if  you 
do  not  at  the  same  time  employ  appropriate  and  adequate 
means  for  altering  the  inclination,  usually  ends  in  increasing 
the  indisposition  it  was  intended  to  remove,  aggravating  the 
disease  it  was  meant  to  cure  I  The  morality  of  Christianity 
far  exceeds  any  other  morality  which  the  world  has  ever 
seen.  Where  is  to  be  found  anything  to  be  compared  with 
the  Sermon  on  the  Mount,  or  the  moral  part  of  the  apos- 
tolical epistles  ?  Yet  the  transforming  power  of  the  system 
does  not  lie  here.  The  morality  of  Christianity  may  be 
useful  in  convincing  a  bad  man  that  he  is  bad,  and  in 
helping  a  good  man  to  become  better  ;  but,  constituted  as 
human  nature  is,  it  cannot  convert  a  bad  man  into  a  good 
man. 

Another  class  of  Christian  teachers,  in  much  greater 
harmony  with  the  principles  both  of  the  scriptural  revelation 
and  a  sound  mental  philosophy,  have  held  that  the  power 
of  Christianity  to  make  men  new  creatures  resides  in  its 
peculiarities  as  a  doctrinal  system  :  that  the  clear,  well- 
established  disclosures  it  makes  of  the  grandeur  and  the 
grace  of  the  divine  character,  of  the  infinite  venerableness, 
and  estimableness,  and  loveliness,  and  kindness  of  the 
Supreme  Being, — in  the  accounts  it  gives  us  of  the  incar- 
nation and  sacrifice  of  his  only-begotten  Son,  and  of  the 
inestimably  valuable  blessings  which  through  his  media- 
tion are  bestowed  on  mankind, — when  apprehended  in  their 
meaning  and  evidence,  that  is,  when  understood  and  be- 
lieved, naturally  and  necessarily  produce  such  a  revolution 
in  man's  mode  of  thinking  and  feeling  in  reference  to  God, 
as  naturally  and  necessarily  lead  to  a  revolution  in  his  mode 
of  conduct ;  and  that  then,  and  not  till  then,  the  moral  or 
preceptive  part  of  Christianity  begins  to  tell  on  the  amelio- 
ration of  the  character. 

These   sentiments,   especially  when   connected,  as  they 


PART  II.]  MEANS  FOR  OBTAINING  THE  OBJECT.  43 

usually  are,  with  a  persuasion  of  the  necessity  of  super- 
natural influence,  the  influence  of  the  Holy  Spirit,  to  bring 
the  mind  and  to  keep  the  mind  under  the  moral  influence 
of  evangelical  truth,  appear  to  us  just,  so  far  as  they  go ; 
but  still  they  exhibit  but  an  imperfect  view  of  the  manner 
in  which  Christianity  produces — what  nothing  else  can — a 
radical,  permanent,  ever  progressive  improvement  of  the 
human  character,  leading  a  man  to  "  live  the  rest  of  his 
time  in  the  flesh  not  to  the  lusts  of  men,  but  to  the  will  of 
God." 

Fully  to  understand   this  most  important  subject,  it  is  > 
necessary  to  recollect  that  Christianity,  in  the  most  exten- 
sive sense  of  the  word,  is  something  more  than  a  revelation 
either  of  moral  or  religious  truth.     It  is  the  development 
of  a  divine  economy,  a  system  of  divine  dispensations  in 
reference  to  a  lost  world  ;  and  it  is  in  these  dispensations, 
the  incarnation  and  sacrifice  of  the  Only-Begotten  of  God, 
— dispensations  having  for  their  direct  object  the  change  of ; 
man,  the  sinner's  relation  to  the  Supreme  Being  as  the  moral 
governor  of  the  world, — that  the  true  origin  of  man's  moral  \ 
transformation  is  to  be  found;  and  it  is  as  a  development^ 
of  these  dispensations  that  the  Christian  revelation  princi- 
pally conduces  to  the  sanctification  of  man. 

Nothing  is  more  obvious  than  that  a  man's  state,  rela- 
tions, and  circumstances  have  a  powerful  influence  on  the 
formation  of  his  character.  The  same  individual,  if  placed 
in  infancy  in  the  state  of  slavery,  or  in  the  state  of  royalty, 
would  in  mature  life  be  distinguished  by  very  different,  and 
in  many  points  directly  opposite,  dispositions  and  habits.  A 
certain  set  of  relations  and  circumstances  may  be  quite 
incongruous  with  a  certain  character ;  and  every  species 
of  moral  means  may  be  employed  in  vain  to  produce  that 
character,  till  these  relations  and  circumstances  are  changed. 
Let  a  slave  receive  every  advantage  of  the  most  accom- 


44  EXHORTATION  TO  HOLINESS.  [DISC.  XVII. 

plished  education,  if  he  is  not  enfranchised  there  is  httle 
probabiHty  of  his  being  formed  to  the  generous  character  of 
a  freeman.  Let  me  know  a  man  to  be  my  enemy,  or  even 
suspect  him  to  be  so;  and  no  exhibition  of  his  good  quahties, 
though  I  shoukl  be  brought  to  credit  them,  which  I  will  be 
very  slow  to  do,  can  induce  me  to  put  confidence  in  him. 
Let  the  relation  of  hostility  be  changed  into  one  of  friend- 
ship, and  let  me  be  persuaded  of  this ;  and  the  same  moral 
means  which  were  formerly  utterly  inefficacious,  will  pro- 
duce a  powerful  effect.  These  plain,  common-sense  prin- 
ciples, transferred  to  the  subject  before  us,  lead  us  into  the 
truth  respecting  the  origin  of  the  transforming,  sanctifying 
influence  of  Christianity. 

The  relations  of  man,  as  a  righteously  condemned  sinner, 
are  incompatible  with  a  holy  character.  While  man  is  con- 
demned, and  knows  that  he  is  condemned,  how  can  he  be 
holy,  how  can  he  become  holy?  How  can  God  consistently 
bestow  the  highest  token  of  his  complacent  regard,  the 
Sanctifying  Spirit,  on  one  who  is  the  proper  object  of  his 
moral  disapprobation  and  judicial  displeasure  ;  and  how 
can  man  love  or  trust  or  affectionately  obey  him  whom  he 
knows  that  he  has  offended,  whom  he  has  reason  to  consider 
as  his  omnipotent  enemy?  It  is  by  meeting  and  removing 
these  difficulties  that  Christianity  secures  the  holiness  of 
man.  It  is  in  securing,  by  a  set  of  divine  arrangements, 
the  change  of  a  state  of  hostility  into  a  state  of  friendship, — 
in  rendering  the  pardon  and  salvation  of  the  guilty  con- 
sistent with,  ay,  illustrative  of,  the  perfections  of  the  divine 
character  and  the  principles  of  the  divine  government, — that 
Christianity  lays  deep,  and  broad,  and  sure,  the  foundation 
of  man's  deliverance  not  only  from  misery,  but  from  sin  ; 
not  only  of  his  endless  happiness,  but  of  his  moral  perfec- 
tion. In  the  vicarious  sacrifice  of  the  incarnate  Son,  in  his 
suffering  for  us  in  the  flesh  for  sin,  the  just  in  the  room  of 


FART  II.]     MEANS  FOK  OBTAINING  THE  OBJECT.         45 

the  unjust, — so  suffering  as  that  he  found  rest  from  sin, 
provision  is  made  for  a  most  happy  change  in  our  relations. 
We  united  to  him,  suffering  for  sin  in  our  room,  are  made 
to  rest  from  sin.  And  in  this  change  of  relations  is  neces- 
sarily implied,  and  indubitably  secured,  a  complete  change 
of  moral  disposition  and  habits.  It  is  this  which  leads  to 
no  lono-er  livins;  to  the  lusts  of  men,  but  to  the  will  of  God. 
It  is  this  chief  of  the  works  of  God,  that,  like  the  main- 
spring or  moving  power  of  a  complicated  piece  of  machi- 
nery, gives  resistless  energy  and  unfailing  efficacy,  in  the 
case  of  the  saved,  to  the  moral  influence  of  the  doctrines 
and  precepts  of  the  gospel.  The  better  the  connection 
between  the  atonement  and  sanctification  is  understood,  the 
more  firmly  it  is  believed,  the  more  habitually  it  is  medi- 
tated on,  the  greater  progress  will  the  individual  Christian 
make  in  practical  godliness;  and  he  who  would  comply  with 
the  apostle's  exhortation,  to  "  live  no  longer  the  rest  of  his 
time  to  the  lusts  of  men,  but  to  the  will  of  God,"  must  arm 
himself  with  this  thought,  "  He  that  hath  suffered  in  the 
flesh  is  made  to  rest  from  sin."^ 

The  sanctifying  efficacy  of  the  atonement  is  exerted 
through  the  faith  of  the  atonement.  It  is  only  as  known 
and  believed  that  it  can  either  pacify  the  conscience  or 
purify  the  heart.  Let  all,  then,  who  would  make  progress 
in  holiness,  firmly  believe,  frequently  meditate  on,  habitu- 
ally keep  in  memory,  the  great  topic  which  we  have  been 
attempting  to  illustrate :  the  grace  of  God,  manifested  in 
his  Son  suffering  in  the  flesh  for  sin  in  our  room.  That 
grace  revealed  in  the  gospel,  if  understood  and  believed, 
and  meditated  on,  will  do  what  nothing  else  can :  it  will 
effectually  "  teach  us  to  deny  ungodliness  and  worldly  lusts, 

1  These  thoughts  on  the  nature  of  the  sanctifying  power  of  Christianity, 
are  more  fully  ilhistrated  in  the  Preliminary  Essay  to  Collins'  edition  of 
Maclaiirin's  Works. 


46  EXHORTATION  TO  HOLINESS.  [DISC.  XVII. 

and  to  live  soberly,  righteously,  and  godly  in  this  present 
world  ;  looking  for  the  blessed  hope,  even  the  glorious 
appearing  of  the  great  God  and  our  Saviour  Jesus  Christ ; 
who  gave  himself  for  us,  that  he  might  redeem  us  from, 
all  iniquity,  and  purify  unto  himself  a  peculiar  people, 
zealous  of  good  works,"  If  ministers  wish  to  make  men 
holy,  let  them  preach  the  cross  ;  if  Christians  wish  to  grow 
in  holiness,  let  them  look  to  the  cross,  and  to  him  who 
hung  on  it.  It  is  ours  to  present  to  you  "  this  armour;" 
it  is  yours,  as  good  soldiers  of  Christ  Jesus,  to  put  it  on  and 
prove  it.  Arm  yourselves  with  this  thought,  and  you  shall 
assuredly  put  to  flight  all  the  armies  of  the  aliens,  and  be 
in  due  time  made  "  more  than  conquerors  through  him  who 
loved  you."  ^ 

III.    MOTIVES  ENFORCING  THE  EXHORTATION. 

The  motives  to  comply  with  the  apostle's  exhortation 
come  now  to  be  considered.  The  duty  to  which  the  apostle 
exhorts  Christians  is  twofold  :  the  no  longer  living  the  rest 
of  the  time  in  the  flesh  to  the  lusts  of  men  ;  the  living 
the  rest  of  the  time  in  the  flesh  to  the  will  of  God.  And 
he  enforces  tliis  twofold  duty  by  two  motives  :  the  first 
bearing  chiefly  on  the  negative  part  of  the  injunction, 
drawn  from  a  consideration  of  the  nature  of  that  course 
which,  under  the  influence  of  the  faith  of  the  gospel,  they 
had  abandoned,  and  which  he  calls  on  them  henceforward 
carefully  to  avoid  ;  the  second  bearing  equally  on  the 
negative  and  the  positive  part  of  the  injunction,  deduced 

1  It  is  most  justly  remarked  by  Dr  Henry  More,  ttiat  they  who  do 
not  acknowledge  Christ's  death  as  a  sacrifice  for  sin,  "by  their  dry, 
harsh,  and  rash  reasonings,  expunge  one  of  the  chiefest  powers  and 
choicest  artifices  of  the  gospel  for  the  making  men  good." — Alyst.  of 
Godliness,  Book  x.  ch.  6. 


PART  III.]  MOTIVES.  47 

from  a  consideration  of  the  great  design  of  the  gospel  reve- 
lation. The  first  of  these  motives  is  stated  in  the  third, 
fourth,  and  fifth  verses  ;  the  second  in  the  sixth.  Let  us 
attend  to  them  in  their  order. 

§  1.  Motive  drawn  from  the  character  of  the  course  against 
wliich  the  exhortation  is  directed. 

This,  then,  is  the  first  motive  which  the  a^oostle  uses  to 
urce  Christians  not  to  live  the  rest  of  the  time  to  the  lusts 
of  men,  but  to  the  will  of  God  :  "  The  time  past  of  our 
life  may  suffice  us  to  have  wrought  the  will  of  the  Gentiles, 
when  we  walked  in  lasciviousness,  lusts,  excess  of  wine, 
revellings,  banquetings,  and  abominable  idolatries  :  wherein 
they  think  it  strange  that  you  run  not  with  them  to  the 
same  excess  of  riot,  speaking  evil  of  you  ;  who  shall  give 
account  to  him  who  is  ready  to  judge  the  quick  and  the 
dead."  The  whole  of  this  statement  bears  on  one  point — 
the  criminal,  disgraceful,  dangerous  character  of  that  course 
which  the  apostle  calls  on  Christians  studiously  to  avoid. 
The  leading  ideas  are  these  :  To  follow  that  coui'se  is  to 
work  the  will  of  the  Gentiles,  the  unenlightened  heathen, 
the  nations  that  knew  not  God.  The  importance  of  avoid- 
ing that  course  is  manifest  from  the  practices  in  which 
those  who  walk  in  it  indulge,  the  infatuation  under  which 
they  labour,  and  the  responsibility  under  which  they  lie  ; 
and  additional  force  is  given  to  these  considerations  from 
the  circumstance,  that  this  is  a  course  which  Christians 
themselves  once  pursued,  but  which  they  have  through  the 
faith  of  the  truth  been  led  to  abandon.  Let  us  endeavour 
a  little  more  fully  to  bring  out  these  thoughts,  and  show 
how  well  fitted  they  are  to  serve  the  apostle's  purpose,  of 
impressing  on  the  minds  of  those  to  whom  he  wrote  a  sense 
of  the  importance  of  their  not  living  the  rest  of  the  time  in 
the  flesh  to  the  lusts  of  men,  but  to  the  will  of  God. 


48  EXHORTATION  TO  HOLINESS.  [DISC.  XVII. 

(1.)  The  course  whicli  lie  guards  them  against  is  that 
which  is  characteristic  of  the  Gentiles.  It  is  "  the  will  of 
the  Gentiles."  To  make  "  the  lusts  of  men,"  that  is,  natural 
inclination,  the  rule  and  reason  of  conduct,  in  forgetfulness 
of,  in  opposition  to,  "  the  will  of  God,"  is  that  which  formed 
the  character  of  the  Gentile  nations,  and  made  them  in  a 
religious  and  moral  point  of  view  the  very  reverse  of  what 
every  Christian  man  must  desire  to  be.  The  Gentiles  are 
represented  in  the  New  Testament  as  by  way  of  eminence 
"  sinners,"  as  "  not  knowing  God,"  as  "  not  following  after 
righteousness."  The  strongest  expression  for  an  enormous 
and  uncommon  crime  is,  that  it  was  "  not  so  much  as 
named  among  the  Gentiles  ;"^  phraseology  intimating  that 
they  were  familiar  with  crime  in  almost  every  conceivable 
form.  It  must  be  a  very  strange  crime  they  are  unacquainted 
with,  a  very  shocking  one  which  their  moral  feelings  are 
revolted  by. 

We  have  a  few  specimens  given  us  here  of  the  kind  of 
conduct  by  which  the  Gentiles  were  generally  characterized. 
They  "  walked  in  lasciviousness,  lusts,  excess  of  wine,  re- 
vellings,  banquetings,  and  abominable  idolatries;"  and  we 
have  a  complete  portrait  of  Gentile  chai'acter  and  manners 
given  us  in  the  close  of  the  first  chapter  of  the  Epistle  to  the 
llomans,  where  they  are  represented  as  guilty  of  the  most 
shocking  and  unnatural  crimes, — "  filled  with  all  unright- 
eousness, fornication,  wickedness,  covetousness,  malicious- 
ness ;  full  of  envy,  murder,  debate,  deceit,  malignity  ; 
whisperers,  backbiters,  haters  of  God,  despiteful,  proud, 
boasters,  inventors  of  evil  things,  disobedient  to  parents, 
without  understanding,  covenant-breakers,  without  natural 
affection,  implacable,  unmerciful :  knowing  the  judgment 
of  God,  that  they  who  commit  such  things  are  worthy  of 
death,  yet  not  only  doing  the  same,  but  taking  pleasure  in 
1  Gal.  ii.  20 ;  1  Thess.  iv.  5  ;  Eom.  ix.  30 ;  1  Cor.  v.  1. 


PART  III]  MOTIVES.  49 

those  who  do  them."^  And  in  what  did  this  fearful  de- 
pravity of  character  and  conduct  originate  ?  Just  in  hving 
to  the  lusts  of  men,  and  not  to  the  will  of  God ;  allowing 
natural  inclination,  unchecked  by  a  regard  to  the  will  of 
God,  to  be  the  rule  and  the  reason  of  action. 

In  the  very  fact  that  the  course  of  conduct  forbidden  is 
that  by  which  the  Gentiles  were  characterized,  there  is 
couched  a  strong  dissuasive  from  it.  What  characterized 
Gentiles,  could  not  be  becoming  saints.  In  the  simple 
phrase  "  working  the  will  of  the  Gentiles,"  you  have  folded 
up  the  principal  motive  which  the  Apostle  Paul,  in  his 
Epistle  to  the  Ephesians,  so  finely  amplifies  :  "  I  say  there- 
fore, and  testify  in  the  Lord,  that  ye  walk  not  as  other 
Gentiles  walk,  in  the  vanity  of  their  m.ind  ;  having  the 
imderstanding  darkened,  being  alienated  from  the  life  of 
God  through  the  ignorance  that  is  in  them,  because  of  the 
blindness  of  their  heart  :  who,  being  past  feeling,  have 
given  themselves  over  to  lasciviousness,  to  work  wickedness 
with  greediness.  But  ye  have  not  so  learned  Christ ;  if 
so  be  ye  have  heard  him,  and  been  taught  by  him,  as  the 
truth  is  in  Jesus  :  that  ye  put  off,  concerning  the  former 
conversation,  the  old  man,  which  is  corrupt  according  to  the 
deceitful  lusts;  and  be  renewed  in  the  spirit  of  your  minds; 
and  that  ye  put  on  the  new  man,  which  after  God  is  created 
in  righteousness  and  true  holiness."  ^ 

(2.)  The  motive  suggested  by  these  enormities  themselves, 
to  guard  against  the  depraved  principle  of  which  all  these 
enormities  of  the  Gentiles  were  merely  the  development — 
the  making  natural  inclination,  not  the  will  of  God,  the 
rule  and  reason  of  conduct, — is  greatly  strengthened  by  the 
view  which  the  apostle  takes,  in  the  4th  verse,  of  the  infatua- 
tion which  characterized  those  who  had  given  themselves  up 
to  its  guidance.  They  were  "  given  up  to  a  reprobate,"  a 
1  Rom.  i.  18-32.  2  Eph.  iv.  17-24. 

VOL.  III.  D 


50  -       EXHORTATION  TO  HOLINESS.  [DISC.  XVII. 

wrong-judging,  "mind."^  The  very  faculty  of  discovering 
truth  from  falsehood,  and  right  from  wrong,  though  not 
destroyed  so  as  that  they  ceased  to  be  accountable  beings, 
was  weakened  and  perverted.  They  called,  and  to  a  con- 
siderable degree  thought,  in  reference  to  religious  and 
moral  subjects,  "  darkness  light,  and  light  darkness  ;  evil 
good,  and  good  evil ;  bitter  sweet,  and  sweet  bitter."  As  an 
evidence  of  this,  "  they  thought  it  strange"  that  they  who 
had  "  escaped  the  pollutions  of  the  world,  through  the 
knowledge  of  the  Lord  and  Saviour  Jesus,  did  not  run  with 
them  to  the  same  excess  of  riot,"^  and  "  spoke  evil  of  them" 
for  those  very  tempers  and  habits  which  ought  to  have 
drawn  forth  expressions  of  their  approbation.  They  ac- 
counted the  abandonment  of  those  courses — in  which  they 
sought,  in  which  they  confidently  though  vainly  hoped  to 
obtain,  happiness — arrant  folly  !  And  they  ran  down  as 
irreligious,  and  despisers  of  the  gods,  those  who  had  been 
"turned  from  dead  idols  to  serve  the  living  God."  They 
mistook  their  licentious  indulgence  for  true  happiness,  and 
their  "abominable  idolatries"  for  true  religion.  "Their 
foolish  hearts  were  darkened."  What  fearful  delusion  was 
this  !  How  thankful  should  Christians  be  for  having  been 
awakened  from  such  a  delirious  dream,  and  made  sober- 
minded,  sound-minded,  in  their  judgments  respecting  the 
most  important  and  interesting  of  all  subjects — God's  cha- 

1  ' A'h'oKii/.ov  votJv.     Rom.  i.  29. 

2  2yv7-^£;^ovr/i)v  tf/^uv  iU  '^hv  otiiThv  airooTioc).  What  a  striking  illustration 
of  the  peculiar  appropriateness  of  the  apostle's  terras  avsir^ixo^''''^^  ^'^^ 
aiTcoriuv  do  the  following  lines  from  a  Roman  poet,  in  reference  to  the 
orgies  of  Bacchus,  afford  ! 

Turba  ruunt :  mixtseque  viris,  matresque  nurusque 
Vulgvisque,  proceresque  ignota  ad  sacra  feruntur 
Quis  furor — 

Feminese  voces,  et  mota  insania  vino 
Obscenique  greges,  et  inauia  tympana. — 

Ovid,  Met.  iii.  529,  etc. 


PART  III.]  MOTIVES.  51 

racter  and  will,  and  their  own  duty  and  happiness  !  How 
carefully  should  they  guard  against  being  in  any  degree 
again  brought  under  the  intoxicating  influence  of  "  this 
present  evil  world,"  operating  on  unbridled  natural  inclina- 
tion,— of  being  in  any  degree  "  entangled  or  overcome"  by 
these  deceitful  worldly  lusts,  from  which,  through  the  Spirit 
and  word  of  Christ,  they  have  almost  "  clean  escaped  !"^ 

(3.)  Another  consideration  suggested  by  the  apostle  as 
fitted  to  warn  Christians  against  "  living  to  the  lusts  of 
men,"  is  the  awful  responsibility  under  which  they  lie  who 
follow  this  course.  "  They  must  give  account  to  him  who 
is  ready  to  judge  the  quick  and  the  dead."  ISIen  may  act 
as  if  they  were  irresponsible ;  but  they  cannot  make  them 
selves  irresponsible.  They  cannot  escape  the  judgment  of 
God  ;  and  though  they  may  make  their  lusts  or  their  will 
the  rule  by  which  their  actions  are  regulated,  they  cannot 
make  them  the  rule  by  which  their  actions  shall  be  judged. 
Their  attempts  to  break  the  bands  that  bind  them  to  God 
are  unavailing,  except  to  convert  what  might  have  been  a 
silken  cord,  in  the  hand  of  God,  to  draw  them  up  to  heaven, 
into  an  iron  chain  to  drag  them  to  the  judgment-seat,  or 
adamantine  fetters  to  bind  them  in  the  prison  of  hell. 
''  For  God  will  bring  every  work  into  judgment,  with  every 
secret  thing,  whether  it  be  good  or  whether  it  be  evil." 
'"  The  Lord  hath  prepared  his  throne  for  judgment.  And 
He  shall  judge  the  world  in  righteousness ;  he  shall  minister 
judgment  to  the  people  in  uprightness."  Before  that  tri- 
bunal all  must  stand,  and  "  God  will  render  to  every  man 
according  to  his  works  :"  to  those  "  who  live  to  the  will  of 
God,"  "  who,  in  a  patient  continuance  in  well-doing,  seek 
for  glory,  honour,  and  immortality,  he  will  render  eternal 
life;"  but  to  those  "who  live  to  the  lusts  of  men,  who  work 
the  will  of  the  Gentiles,"  "  who  are  contentious,  and  do  not 
1  2  Pet.  ii.  19,  20. 


52  EXHORTATION  TO  HOLINESS.  [DISC.  XVII. 

obey  the  truth,  but  obey  unrighteousness,  he  will  render 
indignation  and  wrath,  tribulation  and  anguish."  "  Behold, 
the  Lord  cometli  with  ten  thousand  of  his  saints,  to  execute 
Judgment  upon  all,  and  to  convince  all  that  are  ungodly 
among  them  of  all  their  ungodly  deeds  which  they  have 
ungodly  committed,  and  of  all  their  hard  speeches  which 
ungodly  sinners  have  spoken  against  him."^  Who,  with 
the  judgment-seat  before  him,  the  account  which  must  there 
be  given,  and  the  fearful  results  if  that  account  is,  that  the 
time  in  the  flesh  has  been  spent  in  obedience  to  the  lusts 
of  men  and  the  will  of  the  Gentiles,  instead  of  the  will  of 
God,  would  not  tremble  at  the  thought  of  allowing  natural 
inclination  or  common  custom  to  take  the  place  of  divine 
authority  as  the  controlling  and  guiding  power  of  life? 
Such  is,  I  apprehend,  the  force  of  the  statement  contained 
in  the  5th  verse  as  a  motive  to  Christians  to  avoid  living  to 
the  lusts  of  men,  working  the  will  of  the  Gentiles  ;  and  it 
is  not  easy  to  estimate  the  power  it  ought  to  have  on  every 
mind. 

While  there  can  be  no  doubt  that  the  account  here  spoken 
of  is  the  last  account  at  the  final  judgment,  it  may  be 
doubted  whether  that  is  the  judgment  which  God  is  here 
represented  as  "  ready,"  prepared,  just  about  to  execute,  on 
the  living  and  the  dead.^  Eighteen  hundred  years  have 
nearly  elapsed  since  these  words  were  written,  and  that 
judgment  has  not  yet  taken  place.  The  whole  human  race 
are  sometimes  divided  into  the  living  and  the  dead,  meaning 
by  those  terms  all  who  have  died,  and  all  who  are  to  be 
found  alive  at  the  coming  of  our  Lord.  Thus  the  apostle 
declares  that  "  Jesus  is  ordained  of  God  to  be  the  Judge  of 
the  quick,"  that  is,  the  living,  and  "  the  dead  ;"  and  Paul 
orders  Timothy  to  do  his  official  duties  "  before  God  and 

1  Eccles.  xii.  14 ;  Ps.  ix.  7,  8 ;  Rom.  ii.  6-9 ;  Jude  14,  15. 

2  Tm  iTOi^w;  s^evri. 


PART  III  ]  MOTIVES.  53 

the  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  who  shall  judge  the  quick  and  the 
dead  at  liis  aj)pearance  and  kingdom."^ 

But  it  is  difficult  to  perceive  any  reason  in  the  passage 
before  us  for  referring  to  this  division  of  all  mankind,  as 
either  dead  or  living,  at  the  day  of  judgment.  It  seems 
highly  probable,  that  the  word  "dead,"  used  in  the  first 
clause  of  the  next  verse  as  descriptive  of  persons  to  whom 
the  gospel  is  preached,  preached  when  dead,  signifies  those 
who  are  spiritually  dead  ;  as  there  can  be  no  doubt  that 
they  who  live,  spoken  of  in  the  second  clause,  they  who 
"  live  to  God  in  the  spirit,"  are  those  who  are  spiritually 
alive  ;  and  there  cannot  be  a  reasonable  doubt  that  the 
living  and  the  dead  spoken  of  in  the  fifth  verse  are  the  dead 
and  living  spoken  of  in  the  sixth  verse.  These  remarks 
would  go  far  to  prove  that,  in  the  verse  before  us,  the  divi- 
sion of  mankind  here  is  not  into  those  who  shall  be  naturally 
dead  and  those  who  shall  be  naturally  alive  at  the  coming 
of  our  Lord,  but  into  the  spiritually  dead  and  the  spiritually 
alive. 

On  both  these  classes  God  was  ready,  just  about,  to 
execute  judgment,  in  the  sense  of  inflicting  severe  calamities. 
When  we  look  a  little  forward  in  the  chapter  (ver.  12), 
we  find  that  a  fieiy  trial  was  about  to  try  those  whom  the 
apostle  calls  his  "beloved" — that  is,  "the  living;"  but  it 
was  not  to  be  peculiar  to  them  to  be  thus  tried.  Suffering 
was  about  to  fall  with  still  more  crushing  w^eight  on  the 
"  ungodly,"  "  the  dead."  "  The  time  is  come,"  is  just  at 
hand,  "when  judgment  must  begin  at  the  house  of  God" — - 
that  is,  just  in  other  Avords,  "  He  is  ready  to  judge  the 
quick,"  the  spiritually  alive  :  but  he  is  ready  to  judge  the 
spiritually  dead  too  ;  for  the  apostle  goes  on,  "  If  it  first 
begin  at  us,  what  shall  tlie  end  be  of  them  that  obey  not  the 
gospel  of  God?  and  if  the  righteous,  'the  living,'  scarcely 
1  Acts  X.  42  ;  2  Tim.  iv.  I. 


54  EXHORTATION  TO  HOLINESS.  [DISC.  XVII. 

be  saved,"  are  to  be  all  but  destroyed  by  the  awful  infliction, 
"  where  shall  the  ungodly  and  the  wicked,"  '  the  dead,' 
"appear*?"  The  sense  of  the  apostle  may,  we  apprehend, 
be  thus  given  :  These  ungodly  men,  who  persist  in  impeni- 
tence, unbelief,  and  disobedience,  must  appear  before  the 
judgment-seat  of  a  righteous  God,  who  even  here  makes  it 
evident  that  he  is  the  Judge  of  the  world,  and  who  is  about 
to  inflict  calamities  which  will  fall  heavily  both  on  his  people 
and  his  enemies,  "  the  living  and  the  dead." 

What  the  judgment  referred  to  is,  it  is  impossible  to  say 
with  certainty ;  some  considering  it  as  referring  to  calamities 
connected  with  the  overthrow  of  the  ecclesiastical  and  civil 
polity  of  the  Jews,  which  was  at  hand,  and  which  was  the 
occasion  of  suffering  not  only  to  the  Jews  of  Palestine,  but 
to  the  Jews  of  the  dispersion ;  and  others  considering  it 
as  referring  to  a  severe  famine,  which  in  the  time  of  the 
Emperor  Claudius  visited  the  region  in  which  the  Christians 
to  whom  this  epistle  is  addressed  resided.  To  meet  such 
a  trial,  few  things  were  better  fitted  to  prepare  Christians 
than  habitually  living  to  the  will  of  God ;  and  nothing 
more  calculated  to  make  it  difficult  to  bear,  than  losing  the 
testimony  of  a  good  conscience  by  living  to  the  lusts  of  men. 

(4.)  We  have  not  yet,  however,  exhausted  the  force  of 
the  motive  contained  in  the  apostle's  statement.  In  this 
evil  way  of  living  to  the  lusts  of  men,  working  the  will  of 
the  Gentiles,  they  had  ^^  once  walked."  This  they  had 
done  "  in  the  time  past  of  their  life,"  that  is,  in  that  part 
of  their  life  which  preceded  their  conversion.  It  has  been 
a  question  whether  in  these  words  the  apostle  refers  to 
Christian  converts  from  among  the  Jews  or  from  among 
the  Gentiles.  The  churches  to  which  the  epistle  was  ad- 
dressed were  composed  of  persons  belonging  to  both  classes; 
and  therefore  it  is  not  wonderful  that  phrases  should  be 
employed,   some  equally  applicable  to  both   classes,  some 


PART  III  ]  MOTIVES.  55 

more  applicable  to  the  one  than  to  the  other.  All  of  them 
had  lived  to  the  lusts  of  men,  all  of  them  had  worked  the 
will  of  the  Gentiles.  With  all  of  them,  natural  inclination, 
uncontrolled  by  the  will  of  God,  had  been  the  rule  and 
reason  of  their  conduct,  the  forming  principle  of  their 
character ;  and  in  some  of  them  this  had  led  to  open  and 
shameless  violations  of  the  divine  law,  which  manifested  the 
true  nature  and  tendency  of  the  principles  by  which  all 
were  animated  and  guided. 

The  passage  before  us  is  very  similar  to  the  two  following, 
which  show  us  how  it  is  to  be  understood.  After  giving  a 
cataloojue  of  some  of  the  most  flao-rant  violators  of  the 
divine  law,  the  apostle  says  to  the  Corinthian  Christians, 
"  Such  were  some  of  you ;  but  ye  are  washed,  but  ye  are 
sanctified,  but  ye  are  justified,  in  the  name  of  the  Lord 
Jesus,  and  by  the  Spirit  of  our  God."  "  Ye  were  dead,' 
says  he  to  the  Ephesian  Gentile  converts,  "in  trespasses 
and  sins  ;  wherein  in  time  past  ye  walked  according  to  the 
course  of  this  world,  according  to  the  prince  of  the  power 
of  the  air,  the  spirit  that  now  worketh  in  the  children  of 
disobedience :  among  whom  also  we  all  had  our  conversa- 
tion in  times  past  in  the  lusts  of  our  flesh,  fulfilling  the 
desires  of  the  flesh  and  of  the  mind."  ^ 

Now,  says  the  apostle,  "  the  time  "  spent  under  such  in- 
fluences, in  such  practices,  "  may  suflfice."  We  surely  have 
had  enough,  more  than  enough,  of  this.  The  phraseology 
is  peculiar  and  very  expressive ;  probably  borrowed  from 
the  prophet  Ezekiel,  when  he  says,  in  reference  to  the 
enormities  of  the  people  of  Israel,  "  Let  it  suffice  you  of 
all  your  abominations."^  It  is  a  way,  with  the  guilt  and 
disgrace  and  misery  of  which  we  are  but  too  well  acquainted. 
We  should  never  have  walked  in  that  way  ;  we  have  walked 
too  long  in  it ;  we  have  been  led  to  abandon  it.  Surely  we 
1  I  Cor.  vi.  II  ;  Eph.  ii.  1-3.  2  Ezek.  xliv.  6,  xlv.  9. 


56  EXHORTATION  TO  HOLINESS.  [DISC.  XVII. 

will  not  return  to  it !  Awakened  from  our  dream  of  de- 
lirium, surely  we  will  not  again  put  to  our  lips  the  narcotic 
cup  which  occasioned  it !  Recovered  from  our  wanderings 
in  the  downward  road  of  ruin,  surely  we  will  not  again 
forsake  the  onward,  upward  path  !  Surely  the  future  part 
of  our  time  should  be  as  exclusively  devoted  to  the  will  of 
God,  as  the  former  part  of  it  was  to  "  the  lusts  of  men ! " 
We  should  surely  serve  Him  who  has  the  highest  con- 
ceivable claims  on  our  service,  as  devotedly  as  we  did  those 
who  had  no  claim  on  our  service  at  all !  "  We  are  not 
debtors  to  the  flesh  to  live  after  the  flesh."  We  have 
greatly  overpaid  it,  which  never  had  any  just  demand  on 
us.  Let  us  spend  no  more  of  our  money  for  what  is  not 
bread,  but  poison ;  no  more  of  our  labour  for  that  which 
does  not  profit,  but  ruins. 

The  import  of  the  whole  illustration  here  seems  to  co- 
incide with  the  striking  passage  with  which  the  Apostle 
Paul  concludes  the  sixth  chapter  of  the  Epistle  to  the 
Romans,  of  which  chapter  the  passage  before  us  is  just  a 
compendium :  "  Know  ye  not,  that  to  whom  ye  yield 
yourselves  servants  to  obey,  his  servants  ye  are  to  whom 
ye  obey ;  whether  of  sin  unto  death,  or  of  obedience  unto 
righteousness  1  But  God  be  thanked,  ye  were  the  servants 
of  sin  ;  but  ye  have  obeyed  from  the  heart  the  form  of 
doctrine  delivered  to  you.  Being  then  made  free  from 
sin,  ye  became  the  servants  of  righteousness.  I  speak  after 
the  manner  of  men,  because  of  the  infirmity  of  your  flesh : 
for  as  ye  have  yielded  your  members  servants  to  unclean- 
ness  and  to  iniquity ;  even  so  now  yield  your  members 
servants  to  righteousness  unto  holiness.  For  when  ye 
were  the  servants  of  sin,  ye  were  free  from  righteousness. 
What  fruit  had  ye  then  in  those  things  whereof  ye  are 
now  ashamed?  for  the  end  of  those  things  is  death." 
Surely   there   has   been   enough,    more   than   enough,   of 


PART  III.]  MOTIVES.  57 

what  is  so  full  of  guilt  and  degradation,  so  fruitful  of 
remorse  and  shame,  which  implies  such  infatuation,  and 
incurs  such  responsibilities  !  Surely  there  should  be  no 
more  living  to  the  lusts  of  men,  working  the  will  of  the 
Gentiles  !  It  is  matter  of  deep  regret  that  any  of  our 
past  time,  that  so  much  of  our  past  time,  should  have  been 
so  unworthily  spent.  It  will  be  tenfold  folly  and  sin  if 
any  of  our  future  time  should  be  so  squandered.  So  much 
for  the  illustration  of  the  first  motive. 

§  2.  Motive  drawn  from  the  cjveat  design  of  the  gospel 
revelation. 

The  second  motive  is  derived  from  the  great  design  of 
the  gospel  revelation,  and  is  brought  forward  in  the  sixth 
verse  :  "  For  this  cause  was  the  gospel  preached  also  to 
them  that  are  dead,  or  even  to  the  dead,  that  they  might 
be  iudcred  accordino;  to  men  in  the  flesh,  but  live  accordincj 
to  God  in  the  spirit." 

The  key  to  the  interpretation  of  this  passage,  certainly 
among  the  most  intricate  in  the  whole  book  of  God,  seems 
to  lie  in  its  connection.  It  has  been  common  to  seek  a 
connection  between  these  words  and  those  which  immedi- 
ately precede  them.  I  have  done  so  with  all  the  closeness 
of  attention  I  am  capable  of,  but  I  have  not  been  able  to  find 
it.  The  statement  in  this  verse  is  plainly  a  reason  for  some- 
thing previously  stated ;  but  I  cannot  find  in  these  words 
anything  like  a  reason  why  God  is  ready  to  jvidge  the  quick 
and  the  dead,  or  why  ungodly,  impenitent  men  must  give 
account  to  God  for  their  ungodly  deeds  and  hard  speeches. 

It  seems  to  me  that  they  present  another  great  motive  to 
the  duty  enjoined  in  the  second  verse.^     Christians  are  not 

^  Ver.  6  stands  in  closer  inner  connection  with  the  thought  of  vers.  1 
and  2,  than  with  the  intermediate  thought  in  vers.  3-5. — Muller  :  Doc- 
trine of  Sin,  vol.  ii.  p.  322. 


58  EXHORTATION  TO  HOLINESS.  [DISC.  XVII. 

to  live  the  rest  of  the  time  in  the  flesh  to  the  lusts  of  men, 
but  to  the  will  of  God :  first,  for  the  reason  contained 
in  the  third,  fourth,  and  fifth  verses,  which  we  have 
already  illustrated ;  and  secondly,  for  that  contained  in 
this  verse,  they  are  not  "  to  live  the  rest  of  their  time  in 
the  flesh  to  the  lusts  of  men,  but  to  the  will  of  God:"  "for, 
for  this  cause,  the  gospel  was  preached  to  them  who  were 
dead;"  that  is,  the  great  design  of  the  gospel  revelation  is 
just  to  induce  men  to  make,  not  the  lusts  of  men,  but  the 
will  of  God,  the  rule  and  reason  of  their  conduct. 

I  have  already  stated  some  of  the  reasons  why  I  con- 
sider them  who  are  dead,  literally  "  the  dead,"  to  be  the 
spiritually  dead,  those  "  dead  in  trespasses  and  sins."  To 
translate  it.  The  gospel  was  preached  to  those  who  are  now 
dead,  though  they  were  alive  when  the  gospel  was  preached 
to  them,  is  to  give  the  words  a  meaning  which  they  will  not 
bear ;  and  to  suppose  that  they  mean,  that  the  gospel  has 
been  preached  to  the  dead  in  the  separate  state, — the  only 
meaning  they  can,  consistently  with  the  usage  of  the  lan- 
guage, have,  if  the  term  dead  is  understood  in  its  literal 
sense, — is  to  suppose  them  to  assert  a  fact  which  seems  to 
have  no  connection  with  what  the  apostle  is  speaking  about, 
and  a  fact  to  which  there  is  no  reference,  except  it  be 
in  the  .19th  verse  of  the  preceding  chapter,  in  the  whole 
Bible.  That  the  events  referred  to  in  the  two  passages 
are  the  same,  I  have  no  doubt.  "  The  spirits  in  prison " 
there,  and  "the  dead"  here,  are  the  same  class  of  persons  ; 
and  Christ  by  the  Spirit  preaching  to  the  former,  and  the 
gospel  being  preached  to  the  latter,  are  descriptions  of  the 
same  event.  Both  the  expressions,  "  spirits  in  prison  "  and 
"  the  dead,"  are  figurative  expressions.  A  state  of  uncon- 
version  is  often  represented  as  a  state  of  death.  "  To  be 
carnally  minded  is  death;"  the  unconverted  man  "abideth 
in  death;"  when  he  is  converted  he  "passes  from  death  to 


PART  III]  MOTIVES.  59 

life  ;"  while  he  continues  in  iinregeneracy  he  is  "dead  in 
trespasses  and  sins."  Unconverted  Gentiles  are  repre- 
sented as  "dead  in  the  uncircumcision  of  their  flesh." ^ 

Now  the  gospel  is  preached  to  men  thus  dead,  destitute 
of  all  spiritual  life,  utterly  incapable  of  spiritual  action  and 
spiritual  enjoyment,  that  by  means  of  it  they,  through  the 
accompanying  energy  of  the  Holy  Ghost,  may  be  quickened 
to  a  new  life,  manifesting  itself  in  living  and  acting  not  to 
the  lusts  of  men,  but  to  the  will  of  God.  Its  voice  is, 
"  Awake,  thou  that  sleepest,  and  arise  from  the  dead,  and 
Christ  shall  iiive  thee  licrht."  The  revelation  of  the  frrace 
of  God,  which  constitutes  the  gospel,  is  mainly  intended  to 
teach  men  "  to  deny  ungodliness  and  worldly  lusts,  and  to 
live  soberly,  righteously,  and  godly  in  this  present  world  ; 
looking  for  that  blessed  hope,  and  the  glorious  appearing  of 
our  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  who  gave  himself  for  us,  that  he 
might  redeem  us  from  all  iniquity,  and  purify  unto  himself 
a  peculiar  people,  zealous  of  good  works."  The  design  of 
preaching  the  gospel  is  to  "  turn  men  from  darkness  to 
light,  from  the  power  of  Satan  to  God."  The  knowledge 
of  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ  which  it  communicates,  is  intended 
to  enable  men  to  "  escape  the  pollutions  of  the  world,  and 
to  perfect  holiness  in  the  fear  of  God."^  Where  these  ends 
are  not  gained,  the  gospel  has  been  preached  in  vain. 
Indeed,  in  some  points  of  view,  it  had  been  better  for  those 
whom  the  gospel  leaves  still  the  servants  of  sin,  that  it  had 
never  been  preached  to  them. 

This  is  obviously  a  very  powerful  motive  to  "  live  the 
rest  of  the  time  in  the  flesh  not  to  the  lusts  of  men,  but  to 
the  will  of  God."  Thus,  thus  only,  can  the  great  benig- 
nant purposes  of  the  gospel  revelation  be  answered  to  the 
individual.     No  man   continuing  unholy  can  ever  obtain 

^  See  note  C. 

2  Epk  V.  14 ;  Tit.  ii.  11,  12  ;  Acts  xxvi.  18  ;  2  Pet.  i.  2-4. 


60  EXHORTATION  TO  HOLINESS.  [DISC.  XVII. 

the  salvation  the  gospel  announces.  Just  in  the  degree  in 
which  he  is  sanctified  by  the  truth,  does  the  truth  gain  its 
object. 

Taking  this  view  of  the  passage,  there  would  have  been 
no  difficulty,  had  there  been  no  more  in  the  statement  than 
this  :  "  For,  for  this  purpose,  viz.  that  we  should  no  longer 
live  to  the  lusts  of  men,  but  to  the  will  of  God,"  was  the 
gospel  preached  to  "  the  dead,"  the  unconverted.  But  there 
is  difficulty,  great  difficulty,  in  the  words  that  follow:  "that 
they  may  be  judged  according  to  men  in  the  flesh,  but  live 
according  to  God  in  the  spirit." 

The  difficulty  lies  in  the  first  clause,  "  judged  according 
to  men  in  the  flesh  ;"  for  M'ere  these  words  not  there,  the 
clause  that  follows,  "  that  they  may  live  according  to  God 
in  the  spirit,"  might  naturally  enough  be  understood  as 
explanatory  of  the  phrase  "  for  this  end,"  and  in  this  case 
would  be  of  equivalent  signification  with  the  phrase  in  the 
second  verse,  "  that  we  may  live  to  the  will  of  God." 

It  would  serve  little  purpose  to  state  the  various  attempts 
which  interpreters  have  made  to  extort  an  apposite  meaning 
out  of  these  words.  Their  number,  and  the  extravagance 
of  some  of  them,  clearly  sliow  that  this  is  a  passage  "  hard 
to  be  understood."  One  learned  interpreter^  states  plainly 
that  he  does  not  understand  the  passage,  and  therefore  lets 
it  alone  ;  and  I  have,  in  the  course  of  my  inquiries,  some- 
times been  disposed  to  follow  his  example. 

The  following  appears  to  me  to  be  probably  the  meaning 
and  reference  of  the  words.  They  seem  to  describe  certain 
consequences  of  the  gospel  being  preached  with  effect  to  the 
spiritually  dead.  The  direct  design  of  the  gospel  being 
preached  to  them  is,  that  they  may  believe  it ;  and  the 
certain  effect  of  its  being  preached  to  them  if  they  believe 
it,  as  well  as  its  design,  is,  that  believing  it,  they  "  no  longer 
^  Castalio.    "  Hunc  locum  non  intelligo  ;  ideoqiie  ad  verbum  transtuli. " 


PART  III.]  MOTIVES.  61 

live  the  rest  of  their  hfe  to  the  lusts  of  men,  but  to  the  will 
of  God."  Such  is  its  designed  effect  on  their  character  and 
conduct. 

But  besides  this  designed  effect  on  their  character  and 
conduct,  the  gospel,  when  preached  to,  believed  bj,  and 
influential  on  the  spiritually  dead,  produces  certain  effects, 
some  of  them  unfavourable,  others  of  them  favourable,  on 
their  condition,  external  or  internal.  It  is  to  these,  I  ap- 
prehend, the  apostle  refers,  when  he  speaks  of  their  being 
"  judged  according  to  men  in  the  flesh,"  but  "  living  accord- 
ing to  God  in  the  spirit." 

"  According  to  men,"  that  is,  plainly,  unconverted  men 
(as  in  the  phrase  "  lusts  of  men,"  or  the  expression  "  ye  are 
carnal,  and  walk  as  men"^), — so  far  as  men,  unconverted, 
worldly  men,  are  concerned,  they — that  is,  they  who  have 
believed  the  gospel  preached  to  them  when  dead — are,  by 
depraved  and  human  agency,  "judged,"  that  is,  condemned, 
punished,  "  in  the  flesh,"  in  the  body  or  in  their  external 
circumstances.  "  According  to  God," — so  far  as  God  is 
concerned,  by  a  holy,  divine  agency,  they  "  live " — they 
enjoy  true  happiness  (as  the  apostle  says,  "  Now  we  live  if 
we  stand  fast  in  the  Lord"^) — "  in  the  spirit,"  in  the  soul, 
in  the  inner  man,  a  happiness  suited  to  the  wants  and  capa- 
cities of  their  higher  nature.  Had  "  livinxj  accordino;  to 
God  in  the  spirit"  been  contrasted  with  "  living  according 
to  men  in  the  flesh,"  it  would  have  described  character ; 
contrasted  with  being  "  condemned  or  punished  according 
to  men  in  the  flesh,"  it  plainly  describes  condition. 

The  particle  translated  "  that"^  not  only  signifies  in  order 
to,  marking  design,  but  also  so  that,  marking  effect,  as  when 
it  is  said,  "  Have  they  stumbled  that  they  should  fall  ?  "  '^  ■ 
that  is,  "  Have  they  stumbled  so  as  to  fall  ?"     This  seems 
its  force  here  :  "  For  this  end  was  the  gospel  preached  to 

1  1  Cor.  iii.  3.         ^  i  Thess.  iii.  8.         ^"l^<ic.         *"lva,  Rom.  xi.  11. 


62  EXHORTATION  TO  HOLINESS.  [DISC.  XVII. 

you  when  spiritually  dead,  that  believing  it  ye  should  aban- 
don sin  and  follow  holiness ;  and  having  gained  its  object, 
the  result  has  been,  ye  are  persecuted  in  your  external 
circumstances — your  body,  your  reputation,  your  outward 
condition — by  men ;  but  ye  are  happy  in  your  mind — in  all 
your  spiritual  relations  and  circumstances — in  God." 

It  was  so  then.  "  Men  spoke  against  them  as  evil-doers," 
— they  "  suffered  as  Christians,"  "  for  well-doing,"  "  for 
righteousness'  sake  ;"  but  while  thus  judged,  condemned, 
punished,  so  far  as  men  were  concerned,  "  in  the  flesh," 
they  "  lived  according  to  God  in  the  spirit."  They  had  a 
"  life  hid  with  Christ  in  God  ;"  they  were  happy  in  their 
spirits,  for  "  the  Spirit  of  glory  and  of  God  rested  on  them." 

Thus  were  the  apostles  "  judged  according  to  men  in  the 
flesh,"  when  they  were  beaten  before  the  Sanhedrim,  and 
commanded  that  they  should  not  speak  in  the  name  of 
Jesus  ;  and  thus  did  they  "  live  according  to  God  in  the 
spirit,"  when  "  they  departed  from  the  presence  of  the 
council,  rejoicing  that  they  were  worthy  to  suffer  shame  for 
his  name."  Thus  were  Paul  and  Silas  "  judged  according 
to  men  in  the  flesh,"  when,  by  order  of  the  magistrates  of 
Philippi,  they  were  beaten,  and,  "  after  many  stripes  had 
been  laid  on  them,  thrust  into  the  inner  prison,  and  had 
their  feet  made  fast  in  the  stocks ;"  and  thus  did  they  "  live 
according  to  God  in  the  spirit,"  when  "  at  midnight  they 
prayed  and  sang  praises  to  God,"  with  a  voice  so  loud  and 
clear  that  "  the  prisoners  heard  them."^ 

And  it  is  so  still.  Whenever  the  gospel  believed  trans- 
forms the  character,  the  individual  becomes  an  object  of 
dislike  to  worldly  men  ;  he  is  "  judged  according  to  men  in 
.  the  flesh  ;"  and  the  manner  in  which  that  dislike  is  mani- 
fested depends  on  circumstances  :  it  may  be  in  silent  con- 
tempt, in  malignant  misrepresentation,  in  spoiling  of  goods, 
1  Acts  V.  40,  41,  xvi.  22-25. 


PART  III.]  MOTIVES.  63 

in  persecution  to  the  death  ; — and  just  as  certainly  does  he 
"  Hve  to  God  in  the  spirit,"  obtaining  "  a  peace"  in  God 
"  which  passeth  all  understanding,"  which,  as  the  world 
could  not  give,  it  cannot  take  away  ;  a  new  life  so  superior 
to  all  that  he  formerly  experienced,  that,  when  he  looks 
back  to  the  time  that  is  past,  it  appears  to  him  as  he  had 
been  "  dead  while  he  lived." 

Materially  the  same  sense  may  be  brought  out  of  the 
words,  giving  to  "  that "  its  more  common  sense,  "  to  the 
end  that,"  by  interpreting  the  passage  on  the  same  principle 
as  you  must  interpret  the  words,  "  God  be  thanked,  that  ye 
were  the  servants  of  sin  ;  but  ye  have  obeyed  from  the 
heart  the  form  of  doctrine  delivered  to  you;"^  that  is,  God 
be  thanked,  that,  though  you  were  the  servants  of  sin, 
ye  have  obeyed  from  the  heart  the  form  of  doctrine  de- 
livered to  you.  So  here  :  "  For  this  cause,  that  they  may 
give  over  living  to  the  lusts  of  men,  and  begin  to  live  to 
the  will  of  God,  was  the  gospel  preached  to  the  spiritually 
dead  ;  that  they,  believing  the  gospel  and  yielding  to  its 
influence,  though  persecuted  as  to  their  external  circum- 
stances by  men,  may  enjoy  true  spiritual  happiness  in  God." 

The  only  interpretation  that  can  come  into  competition 
with  this,  is  that  which  considers  both  clauses  as  referring 
to  the  direct  and  intended  effect  of  the  preaching  of  the 
gospel ;  understanding  by  being  "  judged  in  the  flesh,"  the 
being  condemned  and  punished  in  reference  to  that  which 
is  depraved  in  our  nature,  "the  flesh," — having  the  body  of 
sin  destroyed,  the  being  made  to  deny  self, — "  mortifying 
our  members  on  the  earth,"  taking  up  the  cross, — all  which, 
"  according  to  men,"  in  the  estimation  of  men,  unregenerate 
men,  is  no  better  than  death;  and  understanding  by  "living 
in  the  spirit  according  to  God,"  such  an  exercise  of  all  their 
faculties,  under  the  influence  of  their  renewed  nature,  as  in 

1  Rom.  vi.  17. 


64  EXHORTATION  TO  HOLINESS.  [DISC.  XVII. 

God's  estimation  deserves  the  name  of  life ;  as  if  he  had 
said, '  The  gospel  was  preached  to  the  dead  in  trespasses  and 
sins,  that  they  might  become  dead  to  sin,  and  alive  to  God, 
— dead  in  the  sense  in  which  they  were  alive,  alive  in  the 
sense  in  which  they  were  dead;'  which  is  just  equivalent  to, 
"  that  they  may  no  longer  live  to  the  lusts  of  men,  but  to 
the  will  of  God."  This  is  Archbishop  Leigh  ton's  view  of 
the  passage,  so  far  as  I  can  understand  it ;  but  I  do  not 
see  how  this  sense  can  be  broucrht  out  of  the  words  without 
doing  violence  to  them. 

The  force  of  the  motive  may  be  thus  briefly  expressed : 
'  Ye  ought  to  live  the  rest  of  the  time  in  the  flesh  to  the 
will  of  God,  not  to  the  lusts  of  men,  for  that  was  the  grand 
design  of  the  gospel  when  preached  to  you  "  dead  in  tres- 
passes and  sins  ;"  and  though  by  believing  the  gospel,  and 
yielding  yourselves  up  to  its  sanctifying  influence,  you  will 
certainly  expose  yourselves  to  the  condemnation  and  perse- 
cution of  an  ungodly  world  (which,  however,  can  only  affect 
your  external  condition),  you  will  find  far  more  than  a 
compensation  for  this  in  the  life,  the  happiness,  which  in 
your  spirits  you  will  obtain  from  God.' 

In  the  very  important,  but,  as  we  have  found,  some- 
what difficult,  paragraph  commencing  with  the  18th  verse 
of  the  preceding  chapter  and  ending  with  the  6tli  verse 
of  this,  the  great  leading  features  of  the  divine  method 
of  transforming  depraved  human  nature  are  strikingly  de- 
lineated. Man  has  gone  astray  from  God,  and  is  living  not 
to  his  will,  but  to  his  own  lusts.  He  has  thus  incurred  the 
righteous  displeasure  of  God,  and  brought  on  himself  the 
dreadful  curse  of  his  holy  law.  That  curse  rivets,  as  it 
were,  the  chains  of  his  depravity.  He  is  lost,  beyond  the 
power  of  created  wisdom  and  agency  to  rescue  him.  But 
what  man,  what  angels  could  not  do,  God  has  done.     The 


PART  III.]  MOTIVES.  65 

obedience  unto  the  death  of  the  incarnate  Son,  the  divinely 
appointed  Saviour,  the  just  One,  in  the  room  of  the  unjust, 
gives  full  satisfaction  to  the  violated  law,  and  is  the  pro- 
pitiation for  our  sins  ;  securing  for  Him  all  the  power  and 
authority  necessary  to  gain  the  ultimate  ends  of  his  sacrifice. 
This  well-attested  record  of  this  mystery  of  wisdom,  right- 
eousness, and  love,  is  the  "  gospel  of  our  salvation,"  which, 
attended  by  the  Spirit,  finds  its  way  into  the  understanding 
and  conscience  and  affections  of  men,  transforming  them 
by  the  renewing  of  their  mind,  and  leading  them  to  live 
henceforth  no  more  to  the  lusts  of  men,  but  to  the  will  of 
God  ;  while,  at  the  same  time,  sinners  thus  justified  and 
renewed  by  the  grace  of  God  have  presented  to  them 
motives  the  most  powerful  and  persuasive  to  induce  them  to 
abstain  from  every  kind  of  evil,  and  to  cultivate  holiness  in 
all  manner  of  conversation  ;  and,  amid  all  the  sufferings  to 
which  they  may  be  exposed  from  an  evil  world,  are  sus- 
tained by  the  energies  of  that  spiritual  life  in  God,  the 
exhaustless  source  of  peace  and  joy,  which  they  enjoy  by 
their  union  to  him  who  died  for  them  in  weakness,  but  lives 
for  ever  by  the  power  of  God. 

It  deeply  concerns  us  all  seriously  to  inquire  whether 
we,  through  the  atonino-  death  and  restored  life  of  our 
Lord,  have  become  dead  to  the  world  and  to  sin,  alive  to 
God  and  holiness  ;  whether,  under  the  influence  of  the 
truth  on  these  subjects,  we  are  living  not  as  we  once  did, 
to  the  lusts  of  men,  but  to  the  will  of  God.  This  is  the 
appropriate  evidence,  this  is  the  only  satisfactory  evidence, 
that  the  gospel  of  salvation  has  come  to  us  not  in  word 
only,  but  in  power ;  that  the  end  for  which  the  gospel  is 
preached  to  the  dead  has  been  gained  in  us. 

Let  Christians  seek  clearer  views,  more  settled  convic- 
tions, respecting  the  death  of  Christ  as  the  great  atoning 
sacrifice,  and  their  own  interest  in  it  as  not  only  the  price 

VOL.  III.  E 


GQ  EXHORTATION  TO  HOLINESS.  [DISC.  XVII. 

of  their  pardon,  but  the  means  of  their  sanctification  ;  and 
let  them  open  their  minds  and  hearts  to  all  those  powerful 
motives,  from  such  a  variety  of  sources,  which  urge  them  to 
live  devoted  to  Him  who  died  devoted  for  them, — to  glorify 
Him  whom  they  have  so  long  dishonoured, — to  deny  ungod- 
liness and  worldly  lusts,  and  to  live  soberly,  righteously, 
and  godly  in  the  world  ;  constantly  seeking  more  and 
more  disconformity  to  this  world,  by  being  more  thoroughly 
"  transformed  by  the  renewing  of  their  minds,  and  proving 
the  good,  and  acceptable,  and  perfect  will  of  God." 

And  let  those  who  are  still  running  the  mad  career  of 
thoughtlessness  and  sin,  living  not  to  the  will  of  God,  but 
to  the  lusts  of  men,  consider,  ere  it  be  too  late,  what  must 
be  the  end  of  these  things.  Men  and  brethren,  allow  me 
to  expostulate  with  you.  You  "  must  give  account  to  Him 
who  is  ready  to  judge  the  quick  and  the  dead."  And  that 
account  must  be  given  in,  not  with  joy,  but  with  grief. 
That  judgment  must  be  condemnation.  Indeed,  you  are 
condemned  already ;  and  you  know  it,  however  you  mav 
try  to  strangle  the  conviction.  God,  in  his  word,  condemns 
you,  and  your  consciences  condemn  you  also.  Where  is 
the  man  who  dare  say,  it  is  right,  it  is  wise,  it  is  safe,  to 
live  to  the  lusts  of  men,  so  foolish,  so  shameful,  so  ruinous, 
and  not  to  the  will  of  God,  so  wise,  so  benignant,  so  reason- 
able, so  advantageous, — to  make  human  inclination  rather 
than  divine  law  the  rule  of  conduct  ?  What  has  the  time 
past  of  your  life  been,  but  a  blank  or  a  blot,  guilty  inutility 
or  noxious  guilt,  inglorious  inaction  or  base  activity  ?  and 
how  many  years  have  been  thus  wasted  ?  In  many  cases, 
I  am  afraid,  by  far  the  greater  part  even  of  a  long  life. 

Surely  "  the  time  that  is  past  may  suffice."  Enough, 
more  than  enough,  of  such  madness.  Dishonour  has  re- 
ceived sufficient  measure.  Close  the  term  of  infamy.  It  is 
time  for  fairer  days  to  begin  their  course.     Oh,  relinquish 


PART  III.]  MOTIVES.  67 

those  foolish  and  deceitful  lusts  to  which  you  have  been  so 
long  enslaved,  and  come  to  Christ,  who  will  bring  you  to 
God,  that  you  may  know  him  and  love  him,  and  serve  him 
and  enjoy  him.  In  him  there  is  spirit  and  life:  dead  though 
you  be,  he  will  enable  you  to  live  this  heavenly  life  which 
the  apostle  enjoins  ;  this  life  to  the  will  of  God,  his  God 
and  your  God,  his  Father  and  your  Father. 

Delay  no  longer  this  happy  exchange  of  the  slavery  of 
sin  for  the  glorious  liberty  of  the  sons  of  God.  Put  it  off 
till  to-morrow,  and  it  may  become  impossible.  The  seal 
of  eternity  ere  to-morrow  may  be  put  on  thy  thraldom. 
Thinkest  thou  that  it  is  irksome  to  do  the  will  of  God? 
Think  that  it  will  be  found  more  than  irksome  to  suffer  his 
wrath  for  ever.  But  it  is  not  irksome.  Ah,  thou  knowest 
not  how  sweet  they  find  his  service  who  have  tried  it,  and 
who  with  one  voice  cry,  "  O  taste  and  see  that  the  Lord  is 
good  ;"  "his  yoke  is  easy,  his  burden  is  light." 

Think  not  to  say  within  thyself,  I  will  abandon  the  service 
of  the  lusts  of  men  by  and  by ;  I  will  live  to  the  will  of 
God,  though  not  now,  yet  afterwards.  Ah !  who  can 
make  thee  sure  of  the  will  or  of  the  afterwards  ?  And  if 
afterwards,  why  not  now  ?  Hast  thou  not  served  sin  long 
enough  ?  May  not  the  time  past  suffice  ?  Is  it  not  more 
than  enough  1  He  who  does  not  live  to  God,  is  "  dead 
while  he  liveth."  He  who  lives  to  sin,  lives  in  a  dark  dun- 
geon, laden  with  fetters ;  he  who  lives  to  God,  dwells  in 
light,  walks  at  liberty.  The  uncertain  wildfires  of  worldly 
pleasure,  which  but  light  those  who  follow  them  to  their 
doom,  will  soon  be  extinguished  in  the  blackness  of  darkness 
for  ever.  But  he  that  followeth  Christ,  in  living  to  the  will 
of  God,  "  shall  not  walk  in  darkness,  but  shall  have  the 
light  of  life."  "  His  path  shall  be  like  that  of  the  shining 
light,  which  shineth  more  and  more  unto  the  perfect  day."  ^ 
1  Leigliton. 


68  NOTES.  [DISC,  XVII. 


Note  A.  p.  6. 

Amyraut,  in  his  paraphrase,  gives  the  sense  very  clearly : 
"  Mais  encore  nous  devons  armer  de  cette  bonne  pensee  contre 
toutes  sortes  de  tentations  au  mal,  '  qne  celui  qui  a  souffert  en 
cette  nature  humaine,  n'a  desormais  plus  de  commerce  avec  le 
peche.' "  And  Gerhard :  " "  Or;  rectius  accipitur  expositive, 
exponit  enim  Apostolus  illam  cogitation  em  hvolav  qua  nos  vult 
armari :  hasc  cogitatio  erit  vobis  instar  firmissimi  scuti  et  muni- 
raenti  contra  peccatum."  Erasmus  Schmid's  version  is  :  "  Eadem 
cogitatione  armamini,  nempe,  quod  qui  passus  est  carne  destitit  a 
peccato."     Beza's  version  is  of  the  same  purport. 

Note  B.  p.  30. 

I  am  aware  that  the  words  rendered  "  hath  ceased  from  sin," 
have  been  translated  "has  caused  sin  to  cease;"  bringing  out 
this  sense  :  '  Christ,  by  suffering  in  the  flesh,  has  caused  sin  to 
cease  ;  has  finished  transgression,  made  an  end  of  sin,  brought 
in  an  everlasting  righteousness.'  This  is  a  truth,  and  a  truth 
suggested,  as  we  have  seen,  by  the  words ;  but  to  make  them 
directly  express  this,  requires  very  great  violence  to  be  done 
to  the  original  language.  The  words  have  also  been  rendered 
"has  ceased  from  sin-offering;"  bringing  out  the  idea,  that  his 
one  perfect  offering  has  rendered  unnecessary  any  further  sacri- 
fice for  sin.  This  is  true  too,  and,  like  the  other,  substantially 
implied  in  the  statement ;  but  it  is  to  give  an  unusual  meaning 
to  the  word  "  sin,"  and  it  is  to  give  the  same  word  two  distinct 
meanings  in  the  same  sentence  :  for  certainly  "  sin,"  in  the  first 
clause  of  the  first  verse,  does  not  mean  "  sin-offering." 

Note  C.  p.  59. 

"Propter  hoc  enim  et  mortuis,  evangelicatus  est, — nobis, 
(|ui  quondam  videlicet  exstabamus  infideles." — Clem.  Alex. 
Adumbrat.  ad  1  Ep.  Pet.  Edit.  Pott.  Tom.  ii.  p.  1007.— Apud 
Beaiisobre. 

"  Simplicissime  per  '  mortuos'  quibus  Evangelium  pra^dicatum 
esse  Apostolus  asserit,  intelliguntur  spiritualiter,  in  peccatis, 
mortui." — Gerhard.     "  Fieri  potest,  ut  mortuos  dixerit  infideles 


DISC.  XVII  ]  NOTES.  69 

h.  e.  in  anima  mortuos.  Non  cogit  apud  inferos  intelligi." — 
August.  Ep.  xcix.  ad  Enodium.  "  De  mortuis  dicit  Apostolus 
quod  judicentur  came.  Jam  vero  naturaliter  mortui  non  liabent 
carnem ;  ergo  intelligitur  de  hominibus  in  terra  viventibus." — 
Luther.  According  to  Maimonides  (More  Nevochim),  it  was 
a  proverb  among  the  Jews  :  "  Impii  etiam  viventes  vocantur 
mortui." 


DISCOURSE  XVIII. 

SOBRIETY  AND  WATCHING  UNTO  PRAYER  ILLUSTRATED 
AND  ENFORCED. 

"  But  the  eud  of  all  things  is  at  hand:  be  ye  therefore  sober,  and  watch  unto 
prayer." — 1  Pet.  iv.  7. 

In  the  preceding  part  of  this  chapter,  the  apostle  presents 
those  to  whom  he  wrote  with  a  general  view  of  Christian 
duty,  as  "  living  not  to  the  lusts  of  men,  but  to  the  will  of 
God;"  points  out  to  them  the  only  and  effectual  means  of 
realizing  this  view  of  Christian  duty  in  their  own  experience 
— the  keeping  constantly  before  their  minds  the  great  cha- 
racteristic truth  of  tlie  gospel,  that  the  perfect  and  accepted 
atonement  made  by  Christ  has  secured  for  himself,  and  for 
all  interested  in  him,  rest  from  sin ;  and  unfolds  to  them 
the  powerful  motives  rising  out  of  the  statement  he  had 
made  of  the  leading  principles  of  evangelical  truth,  which 
urge  them  to  follow  the  course  prescribed  to  them.  In  the 
subsequent  context  he  proceeds  to  enjoin  the  cultivation  of 
a  variety  of  particular  Christian  dispositions,  and  the  per- 
formance of  a  variety  of  particular  Christian  duties,  which 
the  circumstances  in  which  they  were  placed  peculiarly  re- 
quired. Two  of  these  injunctions,  with  the  special  ground 
on  which  they  stand,"  lie  before  us  in  the  verse  which  we 
have  read  as  the  text  of  the  following  discourse. 

The  subject  which  these  words  bring  before  the  mind 
may  be  treated  in  two   different  ways.     We  may  either 


PART  I.]        SOBRIETY  AND  WATCHING  UNTO  PRAYER.  71 

illustrate^  first,  the  statement  on  which  the  apostle  founds 
his  injunctions,  "  The  end  of  all  things  is  at  hand ;"  and 
then  the  injunction  built  on  this  statement,  "  Be  sober,  and 
watch  unto  prayer ;"  or  we  may  reverse  the  order,  and  con- 
sider, first,  the  duties  which  the  apostle  enjoins,  and  then 
the  motive  by  which  he  urges  to  their  performance.  It 
does  not  matter  much  which  of  these  two  plans  we  adopt ; 
but  as  a  choice  must  be  made,  we,  upon  the  whole,  prefer 
the  latter. 


I.    THE  DUTIES  ENJOINED  BY  THE  APOSTLE. 

Let  us  then  proceed  to  consider  the  duties  which  the 
apostle  enjoins.  They  are — sobriety,  and  watching  unto 
prayer.     "  Be  sober,  and  watch  unto  prayer." 

§  1.  Sobriety. 

The  first  duty  enjoined  is  sobriety  :  "  Be  sober."  In  the 
common  usage  of  the  English  language,  the  word  sobriety 
is  almost  exclusively  appropriated  to  denote  temperance  in 
drinking,  abstinence  from  the  undue  use  of  intoxicating 
liquors.  That  this  is  a  Christian  duty,  there  can  be  no 
doubt.  Drunkenness  is  enumerated  among  the  works  of 
the  flesh,  the  indulgence  in  which  excludes  a  man  from 
inheriting  the  kingdom  of  God  ;  and  the  command  is  most 
explicit:  "Be  not  drunk  with  wine,  wherein  is  excess'" 
And  there  can  be  as  little  doubt  that  this  vice  is  utterly 
inconsistent  with  that  virtue  which,  under  the  name  of 
sobriety,  is  in  our  text,  and  in  so  many  other  passages  of 
Scripture,  enjoined. 

It  is  certain,  however,  that  the  word  sober  had  a  much 
more  extensive  signification  at  the  time  our  translation  of 
the  Scriptures  was  made  than  it  has  at  present ;  a  significa- 
tion more  in  accordance  with  the  sense  of  the  original  word 


72  SOBRIETY  AND  WATCHING  UNTO  PRAYER    [DISC.  XVIII. 

of  which  it  is  the  rendering.  The  word  here  rendered 
sober^  (for,  as  we  shall  immediately  see,  the  word  rendered 
watchful  here  is  often  translated  sober)  is  a  term  which,  in 
its  primary  signification,  refers  rather  to  a  physical  than  to 
a  moi'al  state  of  the  faculties  of  mind.  It  signifies  to  be  in 
the  full  use  of  the  rational  faculties,  as  opposed  to  mental 
alienation  or  derangement.  Thus,  it  is  said  of  the  demoniac 
who  was  cured  by  our  Lord,  that  he  was  found  by  his 
countrymen  "sitting,  clothed,  and  in  his  right  mind"^ — 
sober,  the  same  word  as  used  here.  The  Apostle  Paul,  in 
his  noble  reply  to  the  unmanly  interruption  of  the  Roman 
governor,  "  Paul,  thou  art  beside  thyself ;  much  learning 
hath  made  thee  mad,"  says,  "  I  am  not  mad,  most  noble 
Festus  ;  but  speak  forth  the  words  of  soberness."  My  words 
are  the  words  not  of  a  madman,  but  of  one  in  full  possession 
of  his  reason.  And,  speaking  of  himself  and  his  apostolic 
brethren,  he  says,  "  Whether  we  be  beside  ourselves," — that 
is,  ^  act  like  madmen  in  the  world's  estimation,' — "  it  is 
to  God,"  that  is,  'from  regard  to  the  will  of  God,  from 
a  desire  to  promote  the  cause  of  God;'  "  whether  we  be 
sober," — that  is,  'act  cautiously  and  prudently,  like  men 
in  the  full  possession  and  exercise  of  all  their  faculties,' — 
"  it  is  for  your  sakes,"  that  is,  '  in  order  to  promote  your 
welfare.'^ 

This  is  the  primary  meaning  of  the  word,  and  it  is  pro- 
bably with  a  direct  reference  to  that  that  the  drunkard  is 
considered  as  specially  unworthy  of  the  appellation  sober, 

1  loitppovriffaTi.  "loji^iiuv  Graicis  dicitur  cui  croj;  (pfivjv,  mens  nana  est,  atqiie 
adeo  qui  mania,  utpote  illius  contraria,  iion  laborat.  lui^^uv,  nullis  in 
transversum  actus  aifectiljus,  recte  de  rebus  judicat,  justumque  singulis 
pretium  statuit,  atque  adeo,  media  incedendo  via,  nee  in  excessu,  nee 
defectu  impingit :  omnia  praemeditate  suscipit  et  cum  anhni  sani  temperie, 
consequeuter  illud  ipsis  Gentibus  adeo  commendatum :  ^>j§sv  cLyav  ne  quid 
nimis  sedulo  observat. — Schkamm  in  Tit.  i.  8. 

2  Mark  v.  15.  3  Acts  xxvi.  24,  25  ;  2  Cor.  v.  13. 


PART  1.]  ILLUSTRATED.  73 

of  a  sound  mind.  The  man  who  indulges  in  the  undue  use 
of  intoxicating  Hquors  behaves  like  an  idiot,  a  person  devoid 
of  "  discourse  of  reason  ;"  and  by  the  continued  use  of 
them,  he  brings  himself  into  a  state  of  madness.  Certainly, 
as  Solomon  says,  the  man  who  allows  himself  to  be  deceived 
by  wine,  that  mocker,  "  is  not  wise  ; "  and  he  who  carefully 
avoids  the  habit,  so  far  proves  himself  to  be  a  man  in  his 
right  senses,  a  man  of  sane  mind. 

The  word,  however,  though  originally  significant  of  a 
physical  state  of  the  rational  faculties,  is  usually  employed 
in  the  New  Testament  as  descriptive  of  a  moral  state  of  the 
mind.  What  is  its  precise  signification  will  best  appear 
from  looking  at  the  passages  in  which  it,  and  the  words 
derived  from  it,  are  employed  by  the  sacred  writers.  The 
Apostle  Paul  exhorts  every  man  "  not  to  think  of  himself 
more  highly  than  he  ought  to  think,  but  to  think  soberly;" 
that  is,  to  think  justly,  and  therefore  humbly.^  The  same 
apostle,  in  the  second  chapter  of  his  First  Epistle  to  Timothy, 
exhorts  Christian  women,  instead  of  decking  themselves 
with  broidered  hair  and  gold,  or  pearls  or  costly  array,  to 
"  adorn  themselves  with  shamefacedness,"  that  is,  with 
modesty;  "and  with  sobriety,"^  that  is,  with  prudence  or 
moderation  ;  and  they  are  required,  ver.  1 5,  to  "  continue  in 
faith,  and  charity,  and  holiness,  with  sobriety,"  that  is,  pru- 
dence or  gravity.  In  the  third  chapter  of  the  same  epistle, 
he  tells  us  "  a  Christian  bishop  must  be  sober,"  wise,  pru- 
dent, moderate.  In  his  Second  Epistle  to  Timothy,  he 
describes  the  spirit  or  disposition  which  Christians  have 
received  from  God,  as  "  not  the  spirit  of  fear,  but  of  power, 
of  love,  and  of  a  sound  mind,"  or  sobriety.  The  spirit  of 
Christianity  is  not  a  timid,  crouching,  time-serving  spirit ; 
it  is  an  energetic,  benignant,  wise,  moderate  spirit.  In  the 
Epistle  to  Titus,  he  states  that  "  a  bishop  must  be  sober," 
1  Rom.  xii.  3.  2  i  Tim.  ii.  9. 


74  SOBRIETY  AND  WATCHING  UNTO  PRAYER    [DISC.  XVIII. 

that  is,  wise,  prudent,  moderate  ;  he  requires  "the  aged 
men  to  be  sober,"  which  is  there  plainly  something  different 
from  temperate  ;  he  requires  the  aged  women  to  teach  the 
young  women  to  be  "  discreet ;"  and  he  commands  Titus 
to  "  exhort  the  young  men  also  to  be  sober-minded."  In 
all  these  instances  sobriety  is  plainly  wisdom,  prudence, 
moderation.  In  the  same  epistle  he  also  states,  that  "  the 
grace  of  God,  which  brings  salvation  to  all,  when  understood 
and  believed,  teaches  men  to  deny  ungodliness  and  worldly 
lusts,  and  to  live  soberly,  righteously,  and  godly," — to  live 
wisely  in  reference  to  themselves,  righteously  with  regard 
to  their  fellow-men,  and  piously  in  reference  to  God.^ 
These  are  all  the  passages  in  the  New  Testament  in  which 
the  word  before  us,  or  those  connected  with  it,  are  em- 
ployed ;  and  on  considering  them,  there  can  be  no  great 
difficulty  in  determining  the  meaning  of  the  exhortation 
before  us,  "Be  sober." 

Some  interpreters  consider  it  an  exhortation  to  prudence 
— practical  wisdom  ;  others  to  temperance,  in  the  extensive 
sense  in  which  that  word  is  employed  in  the  New  Testa- 
ment— moderation  in  all  things,  the  riglit  regulation  of  our 
desires  and  pursuits.  I  am  strongly  disposed  to  think  the 
apostle's  exhortation  includes  both  of  these  things,  and  per- 
haps something  more.  I  apprehend  it  is  equivalent  to, 
'  Exercise  a  sound  mind  in  reference  both  to  "  things  seen 
and  temporal,"  and  to  "  things  unseen  and  eternal."  "  Be 
not  unwise,"  be  not  like  children  ;  or,  if  in  malice  ye  be  as 
children,  "  in  understanding  be  ye  as  men."  Take  heed 
not  to  be  imposed  on.  Beware  of  mistaking  shadows  for 
realities,  and  realities  for  shadows.  Look  at  things  in  their 
comparative  importance,  and  act  accordingly.  Be  sagacious. 
Be  not  content  with  partial  views  of  the  subjects  in  which 
you  have  so  deep  an  interest.     Look  at  all  sides  of  a  sub- 

1  Tit.  i.  8,  ii.  2,  4,  6,  12,  13. 


PART  I.J  ILLUSTRATED.  75 

ject.  Think  before  you  speak.  Reflect  before  you  act. 
"  Walk  in  wisdom,"  that  is,  wisely,  both  in  regard  to  those 
who  are  within,  and  those  who  are  without ;  "  walk  circum- 
spectly, not  as  fools,  but  as  wise."  ' 

If  Christians  are  thus  morally  sound-minded,  they  will 
discover  this  in  the  way  in  which  they  think,  and  feel,  and 
act  in  reference  to  this  present  world.  They  will  show 
that  they  have  formed  a  just,  and  therefore  a  moderate, 
sober  estimate,  both  of  its  goods  and  evils.  They  will  not 
inordinately  love  the  one  nor  fear  the  other.  They  will  not 
rate  very  high  its  wealth,  its  honours,  or  its  pleasures. 
They  will  be  moderate  in  their  desires  to  possess  these,  and 
moderate  in  their  exertions  to  obtain  them  ;  moderate  in 
their  attachment  to  them  while  they  are  possessed  of  them, 
and  moderate  in  their  regrets  for  them  when  they  are 
deprived  of  them.  "  They  who  have  wives  will  be  as  if 
they  had  none,"  knowing  that  earthly  relations,  the  closest 
and  most  endearing,  must  soon  be  dissolved  ;  "  they  who 
weep  as  though  they  wept  not,"  knowing  that  earthly 
sorrows,  however  deep,  will  soon  be  over  for  ever ;  "  they 
who  rejoice  as  though  they  rejoiced  not,"  knowing  that 
earthly  delights,  however  exquisite,  are  shadowy,  uncertain, 
short-lived ;  "  those  who  buy  as  though  they  possessed  not," 
knowing  that  human  possessions  are  insecure  and  unsatis- 
factory, that,  "  as  we  brought  nothing  into  the  world,  we 
can  carry  nothing  out  of  it,"  and  feeling  that  "  a  man's  life 
consists  not  in  the  abundance  of  his  possessions  ;"  "  they 
who  use  this  world  as  not  abusing  it,"  knowing  that  we  must 
give  account  to  the  Supreme  Judge  for  the  use  of  our 
property  ;  and  that,  unimportant  as  wealth  is  in  itself,  it  is 
awfully  important  viewed  as  connected  with  eternity.  The 
great  truths,  that  "  the  fashion  of  the  world  passeth  away," 
and  that  "  the  things  which  are  unseen  are  eternal,"  will 
be  allowed  the  full  influence  which  a  sound,  prudent,  wise 


76  SOBRIETY  AND  WATCHING  UNTO  PRAYER    [DISC.  XVIII. 

mind  perceives  they  ought  to  have  on  the  whole  of  the 
temper  and  conduct.^     This  is  Christian  sobriety. 

The  substance  of  the  apostle's  exhortation,  then,  is  : 
'  Exercise  a  sound  mind,  a  mind  enlightened  and  trans- 
formed by  Christian  truth,  in  reference  to  both  worlds ;  and 
exhibit  its  practical  conclusions  in  your  wise  and  prudent 
conduct,  especially  in  your  habitual  moderation  in  thought, 
feeling,  and  action,  with  regard  to  "  things  seen  and  tem- 
poral," the  influence  of  which  intoxicates  and  infatuates 
the  great  body  of  mankind,  and  makes  them  act  the  part  of 
children  and  fools.' 

§  2.  "  Watching  unto  prayer" 

The  second  duty  enjoined  by  the  apostle  is  watching  unto 
prayer.  Prayer  is  well  defined  in  our  Shorter  Catechism 
to  be,  "  the  offering  up  of  our  desires  to  God  for  things 
agreeable  to  his  will,  in  the  name  of  Christ,  with  confession 
of  our  sins,  and  thankful  acknowledgment  of  his  mercies." 
This  is  a  primary,  essential  duty  of  religion.  It  is  the 
natural  expression  of  that  state  of  mind  and  heart,  of 
thought  and  affection,  in  which  religion  consists.  It  is  to 
religion  what  breath  is  to  life.  It  betokens  its  existence, 
and  it  is  the  means  of  its  continuance.  It  is  very  clearly 
enjoined  and  very  strongly  enforced,  both  by  our  Lord  and 
his  apostles  :  "  Ask,  and  ye  shall  receive  ;  seek,  and  ye 
shall  find ;  knock,  and  it  shall  be  opened  to  you :  for  every 
one  that  asketh  receiveth ;  and  he  that  seeketh  findeth ;  and 
to  him  that  knocketh  it  shall  be  opened."  "  ]\Ien  ought 
always  to  pray,"  to  continue  praying,  "  and  not  to  faint." 
"  Be  careful  about  nothing ;  but  in  everything  by  prayer 
and  supplication,  with  thanksgiving,  let  your  requests  be 
made  known  to  God.  And  the  peace  of  God,  which  passeth 
all  understanding,  shall  keep  your  hearts  and  minds  through 
1  1  Cor.  vii.  29-31. 


PARTI]  ILLUSTRATED,  77 

Christ  Jesus."  "  Continue  instant  in  prayer."  "  Pray 
without  ceasing."  "  The  effectual  fervent  prayer  of  a 
righteous  man  availeth  much."  "  Is  any  man  afflicted  1  let 
him  pray,"^ 

This  important  duty  is  not,  however,  that  which  the 
apostle  here  enjoins.  His  command  is  not.  Pray,  but 
Watch  unto  prayer.  He  takes  it  for  granted  that  they  did 
pray,  that  they  could  not  but  pray  ;  but  he  is  anxious  that 
their  prayers  should  be  such  as  to  gain  in  the  highest 
degree  the  important  ends  of  prayer.  It  deserves  notice 
that  the  word  prayer  is  in  the  plural  form.  It  is  watch 
unto  prayers.'^  Some  have  supposed  that  the  apostle  refers 
here  to  the  four  species  of  devotional  exercise  which  Paul 
mentions  in  his  Epistle  to  Timothy,  "  supplications,  prayers, 
intercessions,  and  giving  of  thanks."  ^  John  Huss  is  pro- 
bably nearer  the  truth  when  he  finds  emphasis  in  the  mode 
of  expression,  and  says,  "  Watch  unto  prayers,  not  to  one, 
but  many ;  for  '  men  ought  always  to  pray,  and  not  to 
faint.' "  That  prayers  are  to  be  offered,  habitually  offered, 
the  apostle  counts  certain.  He  is  not  a  Christian  at  all  who 
does  not  pray,  habitually  pray.  But  the  apostle  is  desirous 
that  they  should  "  watch  unto  prayer." 

The  language  is  peculiar.  What  is  its  meaning  ?  What 
is  meant  by  watching  ?  what  is  meant  by  watching  unto 
prayer?' — First,  what  is  meant  by  watching?  This  is  not 
the  word  which  is  most  frequently  used  to  express  the  idea 
of  watching,  as  a  shepherd  does  his  flock,  or  a  sentinel  that 
committed  to  his  charge.  In  the  original  signification*  it 
refers  to  a  physical  state  of  the  body  and  mind,  rather  than 

1  Matt.  vii.  7,  8  ;  Luke  xviii.  1  ;  Phil.  iv.  6,  7  ;  CoL  iv.  2  ;  1  Thess. 
V.  17  ;  James  v.  13,  16. 

^  E/'y  Ta;  'TTfocrtu^a;, 

^  1  Tim.  ii.  1.       Airio-n;,  -rpaa-tv^^a;,  hriv^ii;,  ivxapariix,;. 

*  'iiri-^ocTl,  not  r^sjyo^Jjo-aTS,  as  cll.   V.   8. 


78  SOBRIETY  AND  WATCHING  UNTO  PRAYER    [DISC.  XVIII. 

to  a  moral  state  of  the  mind.  It  is  descriptive  of  that  state 
ill  which  all  the  faculties  are  awake  and  active,  as  opposed 
to  the  state  of  delusion  and  stupor  which  intoxication  in- 
duces, and  answers  nearly  to  our  word  sober,  in  the  limited 
sense  in  which  it  is  often  used.  It  is  always,  in  the  New 
Testament,  employed  to  express  a  state  of  mind.  What 
that  state  of  mind  is,  will  best  appear  in  this,  as  in  the 
previous  case,  by  attending  to  the  comparatively  few  in- 
stances in  which  the  word,  and  those  connected  with  it, 
occur  in  the  New  Testament.  "  Awake  to  righteousness, 
and  sin  not ;  for  some  have  not  the  knowledge  of  God  :  I 
speak  this  to  your  shame  ;" '  that  is.  Shake  off  the  mental 
delusion  and  stupor  in  which  the  intoxication  of  error  has 
involved  you,  that,  with  clear  and  excited  faculties,  you 
may  attend  to  this  most  important  subject.  "  Let  us  not 
sleep,  as  do  others  ;  but  let  us  watch  and  be  sober," — the 
same  word  as  we  have  here ;  that  is,  be  wakeful ;  let  us 
watch,  and,  that  we  may  watch,  let  us  be  wakeful.  "  Let 
us  who  are  of  the  day  be  sober," — the  same  word,  be  wake- 
ful, "  not  sleep,  as  do  others."^  "  A  bishop  must  be  sober,^ 
vigilant,"  wakeful, — the  same  word  we  have  here.  "  The 
bishops'  wives,"  or  the  female  superintendents,  it  may  be 
either,  "  must  be,"  not  slanderers,  but  "  sober," ^ — the  same 
word.  It  is  difficult  to  see  why  our  translators  should 
have  rendered  the  same  word,  when  used  of  male  superin- 
tendents, "  vigilant," — when  used  of  female  superintendents, 
"  sober."  In  both  cases  wakeful  vigilance  is  the  idea :  "  But 
Avatch  thou  in  all  things."  Keep  awake,  and  be  active  in 
the  discharge  of  all  thy  duties.^  "  Speak  the  words  that 
become  sound  doctrine,  that  the  aged  men  be  sober,"  ^  vigi- 
lant in  the  margin.  The  only  other  places  where  the  word 
occurs  in  the  New  Testament,  are  in  this  epistle  :  "  Gird 

1  I  Cor.  XV.  34.  2  I  Thess.  v.  6-8.  ^  i  xim.  iii.  2. 

*  2  Tim.  iii.  II.  5  2  Tim.  iv.  5.  "  Tit.  ii.  2. 


PART  I.]  ILLUSTRATED.  79 

up  the  loins  of  your  mind,  be  sober  :"^  where  the  idea  of 
wakefulness  or  vigilance  seems  better  to  suit  the  context 
than  sobriety,  either  in  its  stricter  or  more  extended  mean- 
ing. "  Be  sober,  be  vigilant,"" — be  wakeful,  and  not  only 
be  wakeful,  but  actively  watch.  From  all  these  passages 
it  seems  plain  that  the  apostle's  exhortation  is,  Be  wakeful, 
be  on  the  alert ;  look  around  you ;  with  excited  attention 
actively  exert  your  mind. 

But  what  are  we  to  understand  by  being  watchful,  or 
watching  unto  prayer  ?  The  phrase  has  received  two 
translations.  Be  watchful  in  prayer,  that  is,  while  engaged 
in  prayer  ;  or  be  watchful,  in  order  to  prayer.  There  can 
be  no  doubt  that  they  misinterpret  the  passage  who  refer 
it  to  the  vigils  or  nightly  prayers  of  the  ancient  Church. 
This  is  an  interpretation  which  very  properly  may  take  its 
place  alongside  of  that  which  would  render  "  repent"  ^  by 
'  do  penance.'  The  primitive  Christians  were  obliged  to 
have  their  common  "  j^rayers,"  as  well  as  "  the  doctrine" 
and  "  the  breaking  of  bread,"  during  the  night,  for  they 
durst  not  assemble  during  the  day.  But  there  does  not 
seem  any  reference  to  that  here,  which  was  indeed  more  a 
matter  of  necessity  than  of  choice  ;  not  a  duty  in  itself,  but 
only  in  the  particular  circumstances  in  which  they  were 
placed.  All  that  is  included  in  either  of  the  two  renderings 
mentioned,  and  something  more,  is  expressed  in  a  transla- 
tion which,  if  the  words  do  not  demand,  they  certainly 
admit :  "  Be  watchful,  or  watch,  in  reference  to  prayer."  ^ 

1  1  Pet.  i.  13.  2  1  Pet.  v.  8.  3  MsTa.,ouTi. 

*  Bishop  Jebb  considers  "watching  unto  prayer"  as  =  "vigilantly 
guarding  against  whatever  is  unfriendly  to  devotion, — viewing  everything 
mth  a  reference  to  the  effect  it  is  likely  to  have  on  our  jjrayers  ;  this 
watchfulness  respecting  not  merely  things  wrong  in  themselves,  but  things 
innocent,  useful,  laudable.  Perimus  licetis.  What  was  it  that  kept  the 
guests  in  the  parable  from  the  supper  ?  What,  then,  is  the  remedy  ?  are 
we  to  renounce  these  things?    By  no  means,  but  1  Cor.  \'ii.  29-3L" 


80  SOBRIETY  AND  WATCHING  UNTO  PRAYER    [DISC.  XVIII. 

Vigilance  requires  to  be  exerted  in  reference  to  all  duties. 
We  need  to  watch  as  to  the  principles  in  which  they  origi- 
nate, the  manner  in  which  they  are  performed,  the  motives 
which  influence  us  in  performing  them,  the  end  we  seek  to 
gain  by  performing  them.  But  there  is  special  need  of 
vigilance  in  reference  to  prayer.  Christians  should  be 
watchful  as  to  proper  subjects  of  prayer,  as  to  fit  oppor- 
tunities for  prayer,  as  to  hindrances  from  and  in  prayer,  as 
to  the  proper  manner  of  prayer,  and  as  to  the  results  or 
consequences  of  prayer. 

The  attention  of  Christians  should  be  actively  alive  to 
the  circumstances — in  the  world,  in  the  Church,  in  the 
various  spheres  of  relative  duty  which  they  occupy,  in  their 
own  individual  experience — which  ought  to  be  made  the 
subjects  of  prayer ;  and  in  every  case  see  that  what  they 
pray  for  be  agreeable  to  God's  will,  something  they  are 
warranted  to  ask,  and  which  he  has  promised  to  grant. 
They  should  look  at  everything  in  this  particular  aspect, 
that  so  "  in  everything  they  may  in  prayer  and  supplication 
make  their  requests  known  to  God." 

They  should  wakefully  observe  what  may  be  fit  oppor- 
tunities for  escaping  from  the  world  to  hold  communion 
with  God,  that  they  may  carefully  improve  them.  Thus 
did  David  watch  unto  prayer,  when  he  said,  "  As  for  me,  I 
will  call  upon  God,  and  the  Lord  shall  save  me.  Evening, 
and  morning,  and  at  noon,  will  I  pray,  and  cry  aloud ;  and 
He  shall  hear  my  voice." 

They  should  watch  against  worldliness  of  mind,  and  espe- 
cially against  wilful  transgressions,  remembering  that,  "if 
we  regard  iniquity  in  our  heart,  the  Lord  will  not  hear  us."^ 

They  should  watch  in  reference  to  the  manner  of  prayer 
when  engaged  in  it ;  taking  care  that  it  be  prayer,  and  not 
merely  saying  prayers ;  that  they  serve  him  who  is  a  Spirit, 
1  Ps.  Iv.  17,  Ixvi.  18. 


PART  II.]  ENFORCED.  81 

with  their  spirits  "in  spirit  and  truth;"  that  they  "present 
a  living  sacrifice ;"  that  they  yiekl  "  rational  worship ;"  that 
they  "  pray  in  the  spirit,"  depending  on  the  promised  in- 
fluence of  the  Holy  Ghost  as  "  the  Spirit  of  grace  and  of 
supplications  ;"  that  they  pray  "  in  faith,  nothing  wavering ; 
for  he  that  wavereth  is  as  a  wave  of  the  sea  driven  of  the 
wind  and  tossed — let  not  that  man  think  that  he  shall  receive 
anything  of  the  Lord;"  that  they  pray  with  intense  desire, 
being  "instant  in  prayer;"  that  they  pray  in  humble  sub- 
mission, saying,  "  Not  my  will,  but  thine  be  done."  ^ 

Finally,  they  should  watch  in  reference  to  the  results 
of  prayer.  Like  Habakkuk,  they  should  "  stand  on  their 
watch,  and  set  them  upon  the  tower  to  see  what  he  will  say 
to  them."  "  I  will  direct  my  prayer  to  thee,"  says  David, 
"  and  look  up."^  Christians  "  should  look  after  their 
prayers,  and  hear  what  the  Lord  will  speak,  observe  what 
the  Lord  will  do ;  that  if  he  grant  what  they  ask,  they  may 
be  thankful  ;  that  if  he  deny,  they  may  be  patient  and 
humbly  inquire  the  cause ;  that  if  he  defer,  they  may  con- 
tinue to  pray  and  wait,  and  not. faint.  They  should  look 
up  or  look  out,  as  they  who  have  shot  an  arrow,  looking  to 
see  how  near  it  has  come  to  the  mark.  We  lose  much  of 
the  comfort  of  our  prayers  for  want  of  observing  the  returns 
of  them."^ 

II.   MOTIVE  URGING  TO  SOBEIETT  AND  WATCHING  UNTO 
PRAYER  :    "  THE  END  OF  ALL  THINGS  IS  AT  HAND." 

Let  us  now,  secondly,  attend  to  the  motive  by  which  the 
apostle  enforces  his  exhortation.  "  The  end  of  all  things  is 
at  hand;"  therefore  "be  sober,  and  watch  unto  prayer." 

^  Jolm  iv.  24 ;  Rom.  xiL  1,  Xs^/xiv  XnTfuav  ;  Jude  20 ;  James  i.  6,  7  ; 
Col.  iv.  I  ;  Luke  xxii.  42. 

2  Hab.  ii.  1  ;  Ps.  v.  3.  3  Matthew  Henry. 

VOL.  III.  F 


82  SOBRIETY  AND  WATCHING  UNTO  PRAYER    [DISC.  XVIII. 

"  The  end  of  all  things "  is  a  phrase  which,  taken  by 
itself,  most  naturally  calls  up  the  idea  of  the  final  termina- 
tion of  the  present  order  of  things,  which  is  so  often  men- 
tioned in  the  sacred  writings.  A  period  is  fixed  when  He 
who  established  the  present  mundane  system  shall  proclaim, 
"  It  is  done;"  and  the  dead  shall  live,  and  the  living  "  shall  be 
changed,"  and  all  shall  be  judged ;  death  shall  be  swallowed 
up  in  life,  and  time  be  no  more,  having  been  lost  in  eternity : 
"  the  heavens  and  the  earth  that  now  are  shall  be  dissolved, 
the  heavens  passing  away  with  a  great  noise ;  the  earth  also, 
and  the  works  that  are  therein,  being  burnt  up  ;  the  very 
elements  melting  with  fervent  heat ;  and  the  new  heavens 
and  the  new  earth,  wherein  righteousness  is,  and  shall 
dwell,"  shall  take  their  place.  These  solemn  truths  are 
well  fitted  to  operate  as  powerful  motives  on  all  who  be- 
lieve them,  to  be  sober,  and  to  watch  unto  prayer.  "  What 
manner  of  persons  ought  we  to  be,"  says  the  apostle,  "  in 
all  holy  conversation  and  godliness,"  "  looking  for  and 
hastening  to  the  coming  of  this  day  of  God!"  "Where- 
fore, beloved,  seeing  that  we  look  for  such  things,  be  dili- 
gent, that  ye  be  found  of  him  in  peace,  without  spot  and 
blameless."  "  He  who,"  to  use  the  language  of  a  great 
writer,  "  has  seen,  as  through  a  telescope,  the  glorious  ap- 
pearance of  the  Supreme  Judge,  the  solemn  state  of  his 
majestic  person,  the  splendid  pomp  of  his  magnificent  and 
vastly  numerous  retinue,  the  obsequious  throng  of  glorious 
celestial  creatures  doing  homage  to  their  eternal  King ;  the 
swift  flight  of  his  royal  guards  sent  forth  into  the  four 
winds  to  gather  the  elect,  and  covering  the  face  of  the 
heavens  with  their  spreading  wings;  the  universal  attention 
of  all  to  that  loud-sounding  trumpet  that  shakes  the  pillars 
of  the  world,  pierces  the  inward  caverns  of  the  earth,  and 
resounds  through  every  part  of  the  encircling  heavens ; 
the  many  myriads  of  joyful  expectants,  arising,  changing, 


PART  II.]  ENFORCED.  83 

putting  on  glory,  taking  wing,  and  contending  upwards  to 
join  themselves  to  the  triumphant  heavenly  host ;  the  judg- 
ment set ;  the  books  opened ;  the  fi'ightful,  amazed  looks 
of  surprised  wretches  ;  the  equal  administration  of  the  final 
judgment ;  the  adjudication  of  all  to  their  eternal  states  ; 
the  heavens  rolled  up  as  a  scroll ;  the  earth  and  all  things 
therein  consumed  and  burnt  up;"^ — surely  that  man  must 
be  sober,  deeply,  calmly  considerate,  knowing  how  present 
character  and  conduct  is  to  affect  future  events ;  and  main- 
taining a  steady  restraint  and  moderation  of  all  his  affections 
and  passions  in  reference  to  a  world  the  fashion  of  which 
is  thus  to  pass  away :  surely  he  must  watch  unto  prayer, 
watch  and  pray  always,  that  he  may  be  accounted  worthy 
to  escape  "  the  perdition  of  ungodly  men,"  and  "  stand 
before  the  Son  of  man  "  in  the  judgment.  This  is  a  power- 
ful motive,  fitted  to  influence  the  minds  and  hearts  and 
conduct  of  all  believers  in  all  countries  and  ages  till  the 
end  come. 

But  there  are  obvious  difficulties  in  this  mode  of  inter- 
pretation. "  The  end  of  all  things  is"  said  to  be  "  at  hand ;" 
that  is,  very  near.  Now,  eighteen  centuries  have  well-nigh 
run  their  course  since  these  words  were  uttered,  and  the 
end  of  tbe  world  has  not  come  ;  nay,  when  we  think  of  the 
number  and  magnitude  of  the  events  that  must  take  place 
before  it  arrives,  we  cannot  concur  with  those  who  are  of 
opinion  that  it  is  very  soon  to  take  place.     "  The  end  is  not 

yet." 

To  meet  and  remove  this  difficulty,  it  has  been  remarked 
by  some,  that  the  age  of  the  Messiah  is  the  last  age, — that 
no  such  great  event  as  the  flood,  or  the  giving  of  the  law, 
or  the  coming  of  the  Word  in  flesh,  stands  between  them 
who  live  under  that  age  and  the  end  of  the  world,  so  that 
it  may  be  said  to  be  near  all  who  live  under  the  gospel 
^  Howe,   Vanity  of  Alan  as  mortal. 


84  SOBRIETY  AND  WATCHING  UNTO  PRAYER    [DISC.  XVIII. 

economy;  by  others,  that  it  is  ?zmr,  if  not  in  the  calcula- 
tions of  time,  in  those  of  eternity,  with  him  with  whom 
"  one  day  is  as  a  thousand  years,  and  a  thousand  years  as 
one  day ; "  and  by  a  third  class,  that  as  the  state  of  every 
man  is  fixed  at  death,  that  as  deatli  leaves  him  judgment 
will  find  him,  the  end  of  all  things  to  him  is  not  far  off.  I 
must  say  that  these  modes  of  getting  over  the  difficulty  do 
not  appear  to  me  to  be  satisfactory ;  and  that  the  apostle's 
obvious  design  is  to  intimate  that  the  events  referred  to  in  the 
phrase  "  the  end  of  all  things"  were  just  about  to  take  place. 

Their  view  of  the  matter  is  still  less  satisfactory,  who  tell 
us  that  the  apostles  really  did  expect  the  immediate  dis- 
solution of  the  world.  We  know  there  were  persons  who 
so  misunderstood  such  statements  as  that  before  us ;  but  we 
find  the  Apostle  Paul,  in  his  Epistle  to  the  Thessalonians, 
warning  them  against  such  a  mistake,  and  telling  them 
that  the  day  of  Christ,  in  the  sense  of  the  day  of  the  last 
judgment,  was  not  at  hand.^  Besides,  it  is  not  with  what 
the  apostles,  exercising  their  own  unassisted  judgments, 
expected,  but  with  what  the  inspiring  Spirit  spoke  by  them, 
that  we  have  to  do. 

After  some  deliberation,  I  have  been  led  to  adopt  the 
opinion  of  those  who  hold,  that  "  the  end  of  all  things " 
here  is  the  entire  and  final  end  of  the  Jewish  economy  in 
the  destruction  of  the  temple  and  city  of  Jerusalem,  and 
the  dispersion  of  the  holy  people.  That  was  at  hand  ;  for 
this  epistle  seems  to  have  been  written  a  very  short  while 
before  these  events  took  place,  not  improbably  after  the 
commencement  of  "  the  wars  and  rumours  of  war "  of 
which  our  Lord  spake.  This  view  will  not  appear  strange 
to  any  one  who  has  carefully  weighed  the  terms  in  which 
our  Lord  had  predicted  these  events,  and  the  close  con- 
nection which  the  fulfilment  of  these  predictions  had  with 
1  2  Thess.  ii.  1-3. 


PART  II.]  ENFORCED.  85 

the  interests  and  duties  of  Christians,  whether  in  Judea  or 
in  Gentile  countries. 

It  is  quite  plain,  that  in  our  Lord's  predictions,  the  ex- 
pressions "the  end,"  and  probably  "the  end  of  the  world," 
are  used  in  reference  to  the  entire  dissolution  of  the  Jewish 
economy.^  The  events  of  that  period  were  very  minutely 
foretold ;  and  our  Lord  distinctly  stated  that  the  existing 
generation  should  not  pass  away  till  all  things  respecting 
"  this  end  "  should  be  fulfilled.  This  was  to  be  a  season  of 
suffering  to  all ;  of  trial,  severe  trial,  to  the  followers  of 
Christ ;  of  dreadful  judgment  on  his  Jewish  opposers,  and 
of  glorious  triumph  to  his  religion.  To  this  period  there 
are  repeated  references  in  the  apostolical  epistles  :  "  Know- 
ing the  time,"  says  the  Apostle  Paul,  "  that  now  it  is  high 
time  to  awake  out  of  sleep  ;  for  now  is  our  salvation  nearer 
than  when  we  believed.  The  night  is  far  spent,  the  day  is 
at  hand."  "  Be  patient,"  says  the  Apostle  James  ;  "  stablish 
your  hearts ;  for  the  coming  of  the  Lord  draweth  nigh." 
"  The  Judge  standeth  before  the  door."^  Our  Lord's  pre- 
dictions must  have  been  very  familiar  to  the  minds  of 
Christians  at  the  time  this  was  written.  They  must  have 
been  looking  forward  with  mingled  awe  and  joy,  fear  and 
hope,  to  their  accomplishment — "looking  for  the  things 
which  were  coming  upon  the  earth  ;"  and  it  was  peculiarly 
natural  for  Peter  to  refer  to  these  events,  and  to  refer  to 
them  in  words  similar  to  those  used  by  our  Lord,  as  he  was 
one  of  the  disciples  who,  sitting  with  his  Lord  in  full  view 
of  the  city  and  temple,  heard  these  predictions  uttered. 

The  Christians  inhabiting  Judea  had  a  peculiar  interest 
in  these  predictions  and  their  fulfilment.  But  all  Christians 
had  a  deep  interest  in  them.  The  Christians  of  the  regions 
in  which  those  to  whom  Peter  wrote  resided,  were  chiefly 

1  Matt.  xxiv.  3,  6,  14,  34;  Mark  xiii.  30  ;  Luke  xxi.  32. 

2  Rom.  xiii.  11,  12 ;  James  v.  8,  9. 


86  SOBRIETY  AND  WATCHING  UNTO  PRAYER    [DISC.  XVIII. 

converted  Jews.  As  Christians,  they  had  cause  to  rejoice 
in  the  prospect  of  the  accompHshment  of  these  predictions, 
as  greatly  confirming  the  truth  of  Christianity,  and  remov- 
ing some  of  the  greatest  obstructions  in  the  way  of  its 
progress ;  such  as  persecutions  by  the  Jews,  and  the  con- 
founding of  Christianity  with  Judaism  on  the  part  of  the 
Gentiles,  who  were  accustomed  to  view  its  professors  as  a 
Jewish  sect.  But  while  they  rejoiced,  they  had  cause  to 
"rejoice  with  trembling,"  as  their  Lord  had  plainly  intimated 
that  it  was  to  be  a  season  of  severe  trial  to  his  friends,  as 
w^ell  as  of  fearful  vengeance  against  his  enemies.  "  The 
end  of  all  things  "  which  was  at  hand,  seems  to  be  the 
same  thing  as  the  judgment  of  the  quick  and  the  dead, 
which  the  Lord  was  ready  to  enter  on, — the  judgment, 
the  time  for  which  was  come;  which  was  to  begin  with 
the  house  of  God,  and  then  to  be  executed  fully  on  those 
who  obeyed  not  the  gospel  of  God — the  unbelieving  Jews  ; 
in  which  the  righteous  should  scarcely  be  saved,  and  the 
ungodly  and  wicked  should  be  fearfully  punished. 

The  contemplation  of  such  events  as  just  at  hand,  was 
well  fitted  to  operate  as  a  motive  to  sobriety,  and  vigilance 
unto  prayer.  These  were  just  the  tempers  and  exercises 
peculiarly  called  for  in  such  circumstances  ;  and  they  are 
just  the  dispositions  and  employments  required  by  our  Lord 
when  he  speaks  of  those  days  of  trial  and  wrath.  "  Take 
heed  to  yourselves,"  says  our  Lord,  "  lest  at  any  time  your 
hearts  be  overcharged  with  surfeiting,  and  drunkenness, 
and  cares  of  this  life,  and  so  that  day  come  upon  you 
unawares  :  for  as  a  snare  shall  it  come  upon  all  who  dwell 
on  the  face  of  the  whole  earth.  Watch  ye,  therefore,  and 
pray  always,  that  ye  may  be  accounted  worthy  to  escape  all 
these  things  that  are  about  to  come  to  pass,  and  to  stand 
before  the  Son  of  man."  ^  It  is  difficult  to  believe  that  the 
1  Luke  xxi.  34-36. 


PART  II.]  ENFORCED.  87 

apostle  had  not  these  very  words  in  his  mind  when  he  wrote 
the  passage  now  before  us. 

While  these  exhortations  had  a  peculiar  appropriateness 
to  those  to  w^hom  they  were  originally  addressed,  while  they 
received  peculiar  enforcement  from  the  circumstances  in 
which  they  were  placed,  they  are  plainly  exhortations  to 
which  Christians  in  all  countries  and  ages  are  called  to 
attend,  and  especially  when  placed  in  circumstances  similar 
in  any  way  to  those  in  which  they  were  primarily  given. 
We  are  obviously  placed  in  such  circumstances.  There  is 
now,  as  then,  and  to  a  still  greater  extent,  a  breaking  up 
of  old  systems.  Dynasties  and  hierarchies  are  shaking 
into  dissolution.  Society  is  in  one  of  the  great  states  of 
transition,  which  occur  but  at  distant  intervals  in  the  history 
of  our  race.  Seldom  has  the  state  of  our  times  been  more 
graphically  and  justly  described  than  in  the  words  of  a 
living  writer  :  "  What  times  are  coming  upon  the  earth  we 
know  not ;  but  the  general  expectation  of  persons  of  all 
characters  in  all  nations,  is  an  instinct  implanted  by  God  to 
warn  us  of  a  coming  storm.  Not  one  nation,  but  all;  not 
one  class  of  thinkers,  but  all, — they  who  fear,  and  they  who 
hope,  and  who  hope  and  fear  things  opposite  ;  they  who 
are  immersed  in  their  worldly  schemes,  and  they  who  look 
for  some  coming  of  God's  kingdom ;  they  who  watch  this 
world's  signs,  and  they  who  watch  for  the  next, — alike 
have  their  eye  intently  fixed  on  somewhat  that  is  coming ; 
though  whether  it  be  the  vials  of  his  wrath  or  the  glories 
of  his  kingdom,  or  whether  the  one  shall  be  herald  to  the 
other,  none  can  tell.  They  who  calculate  what  is  likely, 
speak  of  it ;  they  who  cannot,  feel  its  coming.  The  spirits 
of  the  unseen  world  seem  to  be  approaching  to  us,  and 
'awe  comes  upon  us,  and  trembling,  which  maketh  all 
bones  to  shake.'  There  is  '  upon  the  earth  distress  of 
nations  with  perplexity,  men's  hearts  failing  them  for  fear, 


88  SOBRIETY  AND  WATCHING  UNTO  PRAYER.    [DISC.  XVIII. 

and  for  looking  after  those  things  which  are  coming  upon 
the  earth.'  Times  of  trouble  there  have  been  before  ;  but 
such  a  time,  in  which  everything,  everywhere,  tends  in 
one  direction  to  one  mighty  struggle  of  one  sort, — of  faith 
with  infidelity,  lawlessness  with  rule,  Christ  with  anti- 
christ,— there  seems  never  to  have  been  till  now."  "  God 
warneth  us,  by  the  very  swiftness  with  which  all  things 
are  moving  around  us,  that  it  is  He  who  is  impelling  them. 
Man  cannot  impart  such  speed,  nor  rouse  the  winds  from 
the  four  quarters  of  the  heavens,  nor  bring  men's  varying 
wills  into  a  uniform  result ;  and  therewith  he  w^arns  us  to 
beware  how  we  attempt  to  guide  what  he  is  thus  manifestly 
governing."  ^ 

The  end  of  many  things  seems  indeed  approaching. 
Popery,  though  making  convulsive  struggles,  must  ere  long 
expire.  Babylon  is  repairing  her  battlements,  only  to  make 
her  fall  the  more  signal.  The  long  captivity  of  Israel  is 
drawing  to  its  close.  The  Mohammedan  delusion  is  effete. 
The  idols  are  about  to  be  abolished.  The  sanctuary  is 
about  to  be  cleansed.  Political  despotism  and  ecclesiastical 
tyranny  are  doomed.  But  before  the  end  of  these  things, 
what  "  wars  and  rumours  of  wars,"  what  siftings  of  men 
and  systems  !  What  struggles,  what  sacrifices,  what  suffer- 
ings are  coming,  are  at  hand !  What  need  of  faith  and 
patience,  of  dependence  and  exertion,  of  caution  and  vigour! 
Never  since  the  destruction  of  the  Jewish  economy  was 
there  a  louder  call  to  Christians  to  attend  to  the  inspired 
declarations,  "  Be  sober,  and  watch  unto  prayer." 

^  Pusey. 


DISCOURSE  XIX. 

ON  THE  MAINTENANCE  AND  MANIFESTATION  OF 
BROTHERLY  LOVE.i 


"  And,  above  all  things,  have  fervent  charity  among  yourselves  :  for  charity 
shall  cover  the  multitude  of  sins.  Use  hospitality  one  to  another,  without 
grudging.  As  every  man  hath  received  the  gift,  even  so  minister  the  same 
one  to  another,  as  good  stewards  of  the  manifold  grace  of  God.  If  any  man 
speak,  let  him  speak  as  the  oracles  of  God  ;  if  any  man  minister,  let  him  do  it 
as  of  the  ability  which  God  giveth  ;  that  God  in  all  things  may  be  glorified 
through  Jesus  Christ :  to  whom  be  praise  and  dominion  for  ever  and  ever. 
Amen." — 1  Pet.  iv.  8-11. 


"  Holy  brethren,  partakers  of  the  heavenly  calling  !"  In 
the  sacred  services  of  the  forenoon,  we  have  in  the  most 
solemn  manner  recognised  the  intimate  relation  in  which  we 
stand  to  each  other  as  Christians.  We  have  declared,  that 
"  though  many,  we  are  one  body,  having  partaken  of  one 
bread,"  "  the  bread  which  came  down  from  heaven,  and 
has  been  given  for  the  life  of  the  world  ;"  and  "having  all 
drunk  into  one  Spirit,"  "  the  Spirit  of  power,  and  of  love, 
and  of  a  sound  mind,"  which  Jesus  being  glorified  has  given 
to  all  who  believe  in  him.  We  have,  over  the  instituted 
emblems  of  the  holy,  suffering  humanity  of  our  Lord,  made 
the  good  profession,  that  we  have  one  God  and  Father, 
Jehovah  ;  one  Lord  and  Saviour,  Jesus  Christ ;  one  faith, 
the  faith  of  his  gospel;  one  baptism,  the  baptism  of  his 
Spirit ;  one  hope,   the  hope  of   his    salvation.     We  have 

^  This  discourse  was  delivered  immediately  after  the  administration  of 
the  Lord's  Supper. 


90  BROTHERLY  LOVE  [DISC.  XIX. 

avowed  ourselves  brethren  in  Christ,  and  pledged  ourselves 
to  perform  all  the  mutual  duties  which  rise  out  of  a  relation 
so  intimate  and  so  sacred. 

It  cannot,  then,  be  inopportune  to  direct  your  attention 
to  an  inspired  account  of  some  of  those  duties ;  and  such 
an  account  is  contained  in  the  paragraph  I  have  just  read, 
which  plainly  refers  to  the  temper  and  conduct  towards 
each  other  by  which  Christians  should  be  characterized. 
The  whole  truth  on  this  subject  may  be  very  briefly  stated. 
The  entire  duty  of  Christians  to  each  other  is  summed  up 
in  one  word — love,  brotherly  love.  The  maintenance  of 
brotherly  love,  that  is  the  temper  by  which  Christians  should 
be  characterized ;  the  manifestation  of  brotherly  love,  that 
is  the  conduct  by  which  Christians  should  be  characterized. 

In  the  text,  both  of  these  are  plainly  enjoined  and  power- 
fully enforced.  The  maintenance  of  brotherly  love  is  thus 
enjoined  :  "  Above  all  things,  have  fervent  charity  among 
yourselves."  And  it  is  thus  enforced  :  "  for  charity  shall 
cover  the  multitude  of  sins."  The  manifestation  of  brotherly 
love  is  thus  enjoined :  "  Use  hospitality  one  to  another, 
without  grudging.  As  every  man  hath  received  the  gift, 
so  let  him  minister  the  same  one  to  another,  as  good  stewards 
of  the  manifold  grace  of  God.  If  any  man  speak,  let  him 
speak  as  the  oracles  of  God ;  if  any  man  minister,  let  him 
do  it  as  of  the  ability  which  God  giveth."  And  it  is  thus 
enforced  :  "  that  God  may  in  all  things  be  glorified  through 
Jesus  Christ."  The  jnaintenance  and  manifestation  of  the 
love  of  the  brethren,  enjoined  and  recommended,  are  thus 
obviously  the  substance  of  the  text ;  and  to  unfold  the 
meaning  of  the  injunctions,  and  to  point  out  the  force  of 
the  recommendations,  are  the  objects  I  shall  endeavour  to 
gain  in  the  following  discourse. 


PART  I]  TO  BE  MAINTAINED.  91 


I.    THE  MAINTENANCE  OF  BROTHERLY  LOVE. 

§  1.  The  duty  explained. 

And  first,  of  the  maintenance  of  brotherly  love.  "  Above 
all  things,  have  fervent  charity  ajnong  yourselves :  for 
charity  shall  cover  the  multitude  of  sins."  The  injunction 
first  calls  for  our  consideration :  "  Above  all  things,  have 
fervent  charity  among  yourselves."  ^ 

In  the  ordinary  use  of  language,  charity  is  expressive 
either  of  almsgiving,  or  of  that  disposition  which  leads  a 
man  to  take  fully  as  favourable  a  view  of  the  character  and 
conduct  of  other  men  as  facts  will  justify.  In  Scripture, 
however,  it  is  never  employed  in  either  of  these  senses.  It 
is  uniformly  used  as  equivalent  to  the  word  "love"  in  its 
highest  sense ;  and  it  would  have  prevented  some  hazardous 
misapprehensions  and  misinterpretations  had  the  original 
term  been  uniformly  thus  rendered.  I  have  had  occasion 
to  remark  elsewhere,  that  "  there  is  a  love  which  every  man 
owes  to  every  other  man,  without  reference  to  his  spiritual 
state  or  character,  merely  because  he  is  a  man, — a  sincere 
desire  to  promote  his  welfare."  This  is  the  love  which  the 
Apostle  Paul,  with  obvious  propriety,  represents  as  "  the 
fulfilling  of  the  law,"  so  far  as  it  refers  to  our  duties  to  our 
fellow-men ;  for  he  who  is  under  its  influence  can  do  no  ill 
to  any  man  ;  he  cannot  interfere  injuriously  with  another's 
personal  property  or  reputation,  but  on  the  contrary  must, 
as  he  has  opportunity,  "do  good  to  all  men."     Good-will 

^  The  subject  of  this  section  has  already  been  considered  in  Discourses 
VI.,  XII.,  and  xv.  I  have  preferred  laying  myself  open  to  the  charge 
of  self-repetition,  rather  than  either,  by  mere  reference  to  these  dis- 
courses, giving  this  discourse  a  mangled  appearance,  or,  by  studiously 
seeking  novelty  in  the  form  of  expression,  running  the  risk  of  injuring 
the  substance  of  the  illustration  of  brotherly  love.  Similar  reasons  have 
led  to  similar  repetitions  in  other  parts  of  these  volumes. 


92  BROTHERLY  LOVE  [DISC.  XIX. 

is  the  essence,  indeed  the  sole  component  element,  of  this 
love. 

The  love  referred  to  in  the  text  is  obviously  more  limited 
in  its  range,  and,  for  that  very  reason,  much  more  compre- 
hensive in  its  elementary  principles.  It  is  not  love  towards 
all  men  that  the  apostle  here  enjoins,  but  "  love  among 
themselves."  This  affection  is  called  "  the  love  of  the 
brethren,"  "  brotherly  kindness,"  to  contradistinguish  it 
from  the  benevolent  regard  which  should  be  cherished 
towards  all  human  beings  ;  for  though  all  men  are  brethren, 
as  they  have  one  Father,  "  one  God  has  created  them," 
they  are  not  all  brethren  in  the  Christian  sense  of  that  ex- 
pression. The  appellation  is  limited  to  what  has  always 
been  a  comparatively  small  class  of  persons,  genuine  Chris- 
tians. The  affection  spoken  of  in  the  text  can  be  exercised 
only  by  them :  it  can  be  exercised  only  to  them.  A  man 
who  is  unchristian,  who  is  antichristian,  in  his  opinions  and 
temper  and  conduct,  may  highly  esteem,  may  tenderly  love, 
a  true  Christian ;  but  he  cannot  cherish  to  him  the  love 
which  Christians  have  "  among  themselves,"  "  brotherly 
kindness  :"  he  loves  him  not  because  he  is,  but  notwith- 
standing that  he  is,  a  Christian.  A  Christian  may  love,  he 
ought  to  love,  he  does  love,  all  mankind;  he  desires  the 
happiness  of  every  being  capable  of  happiness ;  he  esteems 
what  is  estimable,  he  loves  what  is  amiable,  he  admires  what 
is  admirable  ;  he  pities  what  is  suffering  wherever  he  meets 
with  it :  but  he  cannot  extend  beyond  the  sacred  pale  the 
love  which  those  within  it  have  "  among  themselves  ; "  he 
cannot  regard  with  brotherly  kindness  any  one  but  a  Chris- 
tian brother.  None  but  a  Christian  can  be  either  the  object 
or  the  subject  of  this  benevolent  affection.  None  but  a 
Christian  can  either  be  the  agent  or  the  recipient  in  the 
kind  offices  in  which  it  finds  expression. 

This  limitation  is  matter  not  of  choice,  but  of  necessity. 


PART  I.]  TO  BE  MAINTAINED.  93 

Most  gladly  would  the  Christian  regard  all  his  fellow-men 
as  fellow-Christians,  if  they  would  but  allow  him  to  do  so, 
by  becoming  Christians ;  but  till  they  do  so,  it  is  in  the 
nature  of  things  impossible  that  he  should  feel  towards 
them  as  if  they  were  what  they  are  not.  This  affection 
originates  in  the  possession  of  a  peculiar  mode  of  thinking 
and  feeling,  produced  in  the  mind  by  the  Holy  Spirit, 
through  the  knowledge  and  belief  of  Christian  truth,  which 
naturally  leads  those  who  are  thus  distinguished  to  a  sym- 
pathy of  mind  and  heart,  of  thought  and  affection,  with  all 
who,  under  the  same  influence,  have  been  led  to  entertain 
the  same  views  and  to  cherish  the  same  dispositions.  They 
love  one  another  "in  the  truth,  for  the  truth's  sake  that 
dwelleth  in  them,  and  shall  be  with  them  for  ever."^ 

This  circumstance,  which  necessarily  limits  this  principle 
as  to  its  sphere  of  operation,  gives  it  a  greater  intensity  and 
activity  in  that  sphere,  as  well  as  much  greater  compre- 
hension of  elementary  principles.  It  includes  good-will  in 
its  highest  degree ;  but  to  this  it  adds  moral  esteem,  com- 
placential  delight,  tender  sympathy.  This  it  does  in  every 
instance  ;  but  the  degree  in  which  these  elementary  prin- 
ciples are  to  be  found,  in  individual  cases  of  brotherly 
kindness,  depends  on  a  variety  of  circumstances  ;  and 
chiefly  on  the  degree  in  which  he  who  exercises  it,  and  he 
to  whom  it  is  exercised,  approach  the  completeness  and 
perfection  of  the  Christian  character.  Every  Christian 
loves  every  other  Christian,  when  he  knows  him  ;  but  the 
more  accomplished  the  Christian  is,  whether  the  subject  or 
object  of  brotherly  love,  the  more  does  he  put  forth  or  draw 
forth  its  holy,  benignant  influence. 

The  end  of  all  love  is  the  good  or  the  happiness  of  its 
object,  as  that  happiness  is  conceived  of  by  its  subject. 
The  great  end  which  Christian  brotherly  love  contemplates, 
1  2  John  2. 


94  BROTHERLY  LOVE  [DISC.  XIX. 

is  the  well-being  of  its  object,  viewed  as  a  Christian  man  ; 
his  dehverance  from  ignorance,  and  error,  and  sin,  in  all 
their  forms  and  all  their  degrees  ;  his  progressive,  and 
ultimately  his  complete  happiness,  in  entire  conformity  to 
the  mind  and  will  of  God ;  the  unclouded  sense  of  the 
divine  favour,  the  uninterrupted  enjoyment  of  the  divine 
fellowship,  the  being  like  "  the  ever-blessed "  Holy,  Holy, 
Holy  One.  It  does  not  overlook  any  of  the  interests  of  its 
object ;  but  it  views  them  all  in  reference,  in  subordination, 
to  the  enjoyment  of  "  the  salvation  that  is  in  Christ,  with 
eternal  glory." 

This  is  "  the  love  among  themselves"  of  which  the  apostle 
speaks ;  and  his  injunction  with  regard  to  it  is,  "  Above  all 
things,  have  fervent  love  among  yourselves."  The  original 
word  rendered  "  fervent "  is  a  very  expressive  one.^  Its 
primitive  and  proper  signification  is,  extensive  and  wide- 
reaching  ;  and  when  applied  to  love,  it  describes  a  benevo- 
lent affection,  which  takes  a  wide  view  of  the  capacities  for 
happiness  of  its  objects,  and  which  seeks  its  gratification 
in  having  all  these  capacities  completely  filled ;  the  love 
expressed  in  the  words  of  the  apostle,  "  This  also  we  wish, 
even  your  perfection;"  or  in  his  prayer,  "that  ye  may  be 
filled  with  all  the  fulness  of  God."  Nothing  short  of  the 
perfect  holiness,  the  perfect  happiness  of  its  objects,  can 
satisfy  it. 

This  term  is  also  used  to  signify  intensity/ ;  as  when  it  is 
said  of  our  Lord,  that  "  being  in  an  agony,  he  prayed  more 
earnestly."  The  love  which  the  apostle  calls  on  Christians 
to  maintain,  is  not  cold,  not  even  lukewarm  :  it  is  fervent 
love  ;  an  active  principle  like  fire ;  not  lying  dormant  in 
the  mind,  but  influencing  all  the  powers  of  action  ;  a  love 
which  will  make  the  exertion  or  suffering  necessary  to  gain 
its  purposes,  be  readily  engaged  in  and  submitted  to. 

'    'E*TSVJJ. 


PART  I.]  TO  BE  MAINTAINED.  95 

This  word,  too,  is  employed  to  signify  continuance ;  as 
when  it  is  said,  that  "  prayer  was  made  without  ceasing  for 
Peter,"  when  Herod  had  cast  him  into  prison,  intending 
that  he  should  never  come  out  but  to  his  execution.  The 
love  here  referred  to  is  love  that  is  to  last  for  life,  and 
which  even  death  is  not  to  extinguish.  It  is  an  extensive, 
intense,  permanent  affection,  which  the  apostle  exhorts 
Christians  to  maintain  towards  each  other. 

The  precise  import  of  his  exhortation  differs  somewhat, 
according  to  the  place  you  give  to  the  epithet  "  fervent "  in 
it.  If,  with  our  translators,  you  read,  "  Have  fervent  charity 
among  yourselves,"  the  word  have  has  the  sense  of  hold. 
He  takes  for  granted  that  as  Christians  they  were  in  posses- 
sion of  this  fervent  love,  and  his  exhortation  is  to  hold  it 
fast.  Let  not  your  fervent  love  wax  cold.  If,  with  other 
interpreters,  and  fully  as  much  in  conformity  with  the  con- 
struction of  the  original  text,  we  read,  "  Have  love  among 
yourselves,  fervent^''  the  apostle  takes  for  granted  that  they 
had  love  among  themselves ;  if  they  had  not,  they  were  not 
Christians  at  all ;  and  his  exhortation  to  them  is,  '  See  that 
your  love  be  in  extent,  in  intensity,  and  in  continuance,  what 
it  ought  to  be.'  In  this  case,  the  passage  is  exactly  parallel 
with  that  in  chapter  i.  22,  where  he  takes  for  granted, 
that  they  had  "  purified  their  souls  in  obeying  the  truth 
through  the  Spirit  unto  unfeigned  love  of  the  brethren  ;" 
and  exhorts  them  to  "  see  that  they  love  one  another  with 
a  pure  heart  fervently."  The  exhortation  unites  in  it  both 
of  Paul's  exhortations  in  reference  to  the  same  subject : 
"Be kindly  affectioned  to  one  another,  in  brotherly  love;"^ 
that  is,  let  your  love  be  intense  :  and,  "  Let  brotherly  love 
continue;"  that  is,  let  your  love  be  permanent. 

The  only  other  point  in  the  apostle's  injunction  to  the 
maintenance  of  brotherly  love  that  requires  illustration,  is 
1  Rom.  xii.  10. 


96  BROTHERLY  LOVE  [DISC.  XIX, 

the  qualifying  phrase,  "above  all  things."^  Some  have 
supposed  that  the  apostle's  object  was  to  call  on  Christians 
to  show  their  love  to  one  another  before  all:  'Before  all 
men,  have  love  among  yourselves  fervent.  Let  your 
mutual  love  serve  the  purpose  which  our  Lord  meant  it  to 
serve.  "  Hereby,"  said  he,  "  shall  all  men  know  you  to  be 
my  disciples,  if  ye  have  love  one  to  another."^  Be  not 
ashamed  of  one  another,  especially  when  involved  in  suffer- 
ing for  Christ.  When  that  "iniquity  abounds,"  let  not 
your  love  among  yourselves  "  wax  cold ;"  let  not  these  waters 
quench  it,  let  not  these  floods  drown  it.^  Let  it  be  so  fer- 
vent, that  even  the  heathen  may  be  constrained  to  say, 
"  Behold  how  these  Christians  love  one  another !  " '  '  We 
are  rather  disposed  to  consider  the  words  as  intended  to 
mark  the  very  great  importance  of  this  fervent  love  among 
themselves,  as  that  without  which  the  great  purpose  of 
Christianity  could  not  be  gained,  either  in  the  individual  or 
in  the  society,  either  within  the  pale  of  the  Christian  Church 
or  beyond  it ;  for  it  is  love  that  "  edifies"  both  the  Chris- 
tian and  the  Christian  Church.  He  who  has  love  proves 
that  he  has  faith,  for  "  faith  works  by  love  ;"  and  he  who 
has  love  is  sure  to  have  holiness,  for  " love  is  the  f ulfilliufj 
of  the  law."  He  who  loves  his  brother  can  do  no  harm  to 
his  brother ;  he  must  do  him  all  the  good  in  his  power.'* 

Paul's  estimate  of  the  comparative  value  of  love  was  not 
lower  than  that  of  his  brother  apostle  ;  and  his  eulogium  is 
the  best  commentary  on  the  words,  "  Have  charity  above 
all  things."  "  Though  I  speak  with  the  tongues  of  men 
and  angels,  and  have  not  charity,  I  am  become  as  sounding 
brass  or  a  tinkling  cymbal.  And  though  I  have  the  gift  of 
prophecy,  and  understand  all  mysteries  and  all  knowledge ; 
and  though  I  have  all  faith,  so  that  I  could  remove  moun- 

1  npo  Tavrav.  -  Jolin  xiii.  35.  3  Matt.  xxiv.  12. 

*  1  Cor.  viii.  1  ;  GaL  v.  6 ;  Rom.  xiii.  10. 


PART  I.l  TO  BE  MAINTAINED.  97 

tains,  and  have  not  charity,  I  am  nothing.  And  though  I 
bestow  all  my  goods  to  feed  the  poor,  and  though  I  give 
my  body  to  be  burned,  and  have  not  charity,  it  profitetli 
me  nothing.  Charity  suffereth  long,  and  is  kind  ;  charity 
envieth  not ;  charity  vaunteth  not  itself,  is  not  puffed  up, 
doth  not  behave  itself  unseemly,  seeketh  not  her  own, 
is  not  easily  provoked,  thinketh  no  evil ;  rejoiceth  not  in 
iniquity,  but  rejoiceth  in  the  truth ;  beareth  all  things, 
believeth  all  things,  hopeth  all  things,  endureth  all  things. 
Charity  never  faileth  :  for  whether  there  be  prophecies, 
they  shall  fail ;  whether  there  be  tongues,  they  shall  cease  ; 
whether  there  be  knowledge,  it  shall  vanish  away  :  for  we 
know  in  part,  and  prophesy  in  part.  But  when  that  which 
is  perfect  is  come,  then  that  which  is  in  part  shall  vanish 
away.  When  I  was  a  child,  I  spake  as  a  child,  I  under- 
stood as  a  child,  I  thought  as  a  child  ;  but  when  I  became 
a  man,  I  put  away  childish  things.  For  now  we  see 
through  a  glass,  darkly  ;  but  then  face  to  face  :  now  I 
know  in  part ;  but  then  shall  I  know  even  as  also  I  am 
known.  And  now  abideth  faith,  hope,  and  charity,  these 
three  ;  but  the  greatest  of  these  is  charity."  ^  If  charity  be 
all  and  do  all  this,  surely  it  is  not  wonderful  that  Paul 
should  enjoin  Christians  "  above  all,"  or  in  addition  to  all 
other  Christian  graces,  to  "  put  on  charity,  which  is  the 
bond  of  perfectness,"  ^  the  perfect  bond ;  and  that  Peter 
should  exhort  them,  "  above  all,  to  have  fervent  charity 
among  themselves." 

§  2.   The  duty  recommended. 

Having  thus  attempted  to  unfold  the  meaning  of  the 

apostle's  injunction  respecting  the  maintenance  of  brotherly 

love,  let  us  now  endeavour  to  point  out  the  force  of  his 

recommendation  on  this   subject :  "  Have  fervent  charity 

1  1  Cor.  xui.  2  Col.  iii.  14. 

VOL.  III.  G 


98  BROTHERLY  LOVE  [DISC.  XIX. 

among  yourselves  :  for  charity  shall  cover  the  multitude 
of  sins." 

I  do  not  know  if,  in  the  book  of  God,  there  can  be  found 
a  passage  which  has  been  more  grossly  and  dangerously 
misinterpreted  than  this.  Though  certainly  not  among 
those  passages  which  are  "  hard  to  be  understoood,"  yet 
by  the  crafty  and  self-interested,  "  the  unlearned  and  un- 
stable," it  has  been  "  wrested,"  it  is  to  be  feared,  "  to  their 
own"  and  other  men's  "  destruction."  Charity  has  been 
interpreted  as  equivalent  to  almsgiving,  the  devoting  sums 
of  money  to  benevolent,  and  what  were  termed  pious  pur- 
poses ;  and  has  been  represented  as  efficacious  in  covering 
a  multitude  of  the  donor's  sins  from  the  eye  of  the  Supreme 
Judge,  on  the  day  when  he  will  finally  fix  the  eternal  states 
of  men,  securing  acquittal  where  otherwise  there  must  have 
been  condemnation.  Or  charity  has  been  identified  with 
a  disposition  the  reverse  of  censorious;  and  this  passage, 
along  with  the  words  of  our  Lord,  "  Judge  not,  that  ye  be 
not  judged  :  for  with  what  judgment  ye  judge,  ye  shall 
be  judged ;  and  with  what  measure  ye  mete,  it  shall  be 
measured  to  you  again,"  ^  interpreted  by  the  sound  rather 
than  the  sense,  has  been  employed  to  excite  false  liopes  in 
the  minds  of  worldly,  unbelieving,  impenitent  men,  as  if 
their  lenient  judgments  of  their  fellow-sinners,  whose  con- 
duct deserved  censure,  would  plead,  and  plead  successfully, 
for  a  lenient  sentence  to  themselves,  "  in  the  day  of  the 
revelation  of  the  righteous  judgment  of  God." 

What  a  fearful  proof  of  the  stupidity  and  wickedness  of 
fallen  man,  that,  amid  the  clear  light  of  revelation,  such 
misrepresentations  should  be  made  and  credited  !  Surely 
both  the  teacher  and  the  taught  have  given  themselves  up 
to  strong  delusions,  before  they  could  make  or  believe  such 
lies  as  these.     What  degrading  views  of  the  divine  charac- 

1  Matt.  vii.  1,  2. 


PART  I.]  TO  BE  MAINTAINED.  99 

ter  and  of  the  divine  law  must  those  men  have,  who  think 
that  pardon  and  ultimate  freedom  from  the  penal  effects  of 
sin  can  be  secured  by  anything  man  can  do,  much  more 
can  be  bought  with  money  ;  or  that  God  will  reward  what 
is  ordinarily  a  false  judgment  on  man's  part,  by  another 
false  judgment  on  His  part !  Even  charity  in  the  true 
sense  of  the  word,  and  all  its  blessed  fruits,  cannot  thus 
cover  sin,  cannot  obtain  the  pardon  of  sin  ;  if  for  no  other 
reason,  for  this,  that  they  cannot  be  the  procuring  cause  of 
that  of  which  they  themselves  are  the  results.  The  free 
grace  of  God  exercised  in  harmony  with  justice,  through 
the  atoning  sacrifice  of  Christ  to  the  believing  sinner,  can 
alone  cover  sin  in  the  sense  of  forgiveness.  The  love  of  God 
is  the  sole  moving  cause,  the  atonement  of  the  Son  the  sole 
meritorious  cause,  the  faith  of  the  gospel,  produced  by  the 
Holy  Spirit,  the  sole  instrumental  cause  of  forgiveness. 

Setting  aside  this  monstrous  perversion  of  Scripture, 
which  scarcely  deserves  even  the  passing  notice  we  have 
taken  of  it,  let  us  inquire  what  the  apostle  does  mean  when 
he  says,  that  "  charity  shall  cover  the  multitude  of  sins  ;" 
and  endeavour  to  show  how  what  he  means  in  these  words 
is  fitted  to  operate  as  a  motive  to  Christians  to  "  have  fervent 
charity  among  themselves." 

It  is  right  to  state,  that  the  apostle's  assertion  is  not,  that 
"  love  shall  cover,"  or,  as  it  is  in  the  margin,  "  will  cover;" 
but  "  love  covers,"  not  the  multitude,  but  "  a  multitude  of 
sins."  "  Love  covereth  a  multitude  of  sins."  But  whose 
love  is  it  that  covers  sins  ?  and  whose  sins  are  they  which 
love  covers  ?  and  what  is  it  that  love  does  in  reference  to 
sin  when  it  covers  it  ? 

Some  would  interpret  "  charity,"  of  the  love  of  God  or 
of  Christ ;  and  "  a  multitude  of  sins,"  of  all  the  violations 
of  the  divine  law  by  those  Christians  who  are  exhorted  to 
have  fervent  love  among  themselves.    '  God  has  loved  vou ; 


100  BROTHERLY  LOVE  [DISC.  XIX. 

his  love  has  led  him  to  forgive  you.  "  He  has  forgiven 
the  iniquity  of  his  people ;  he  has  covered  all  their  sins." 
Christ  hath  loved  you,  and  has  shed  his  blood  in  order  that 
your  sins  might  be  forgiven  in  consistency  with  justice,  in 
glorious  illustration  of  justice.  He  has  covered  your  sins 
with  his  righteousness ;  He  having  been  made  sin  for  you, 
you  being  made  the  righteousness  of  God  in  him.  "Brethren, 
if  God,"  if  Christ,  have  "  so  loved  you,"  surely  "  ye  should 
love  one  another."  This  love  to  you  all  was  fervent  love. 
Should  not  your  love  to  one  another  be  fervent  too  ?  Should 
not  you  who  have  been  forgiven,  forgive  ;  should  you  not 
especially  forbear  with  and  forgive  your  brethren,  as  God 
and  Christ  have  forborne  and  forgiven  both  you  and  them  ?' 

This  in  itself  is  most  important  truth,  and  these  are  the 
strongest  of  all  motives  to  mutual  Christian  love  :  yet  I 
think  every  person  must  feel,  on  looking  at  the  passage,  that 
this  sense  is  rather  dragged  into  it  than  drawn  out  of  it ; 
and  it  is  plain,  from  the  original  text,^  that  the  love  in  the 
second  clause  is  the  same  as  the  love  in  the  first  clause. 
"  Have  fervent  love  among  yourselves ;  for  love — the  love, 
this  love — covereth  a  multitude  of  sins."  It  is,  then,  the 
love,  the  fervent  love  of  the  brethren,  that  covers  a  multi- 
tude of  sins,  whatever  and  whosesoever  these  sins  m.ay  be, 
and  whatever  may  be  meant  by  covering  them. 

The  words,  "love  covereth  a  multitude  of  sins,"  are  a 
quotation  from  the  Old  Testament ;  and  it  is  very  possible 
that,  by  looking  at  them  in  their  original  connection,  we 
may  find  some  assistance  in  apprehending  more  distinctly 
both  their  meaning  and  reference  here.  They  are  to  be 
found  in  Prov.  x.  12  :  "  Hatred  stirreth  up  strifes  :  but  love 
covereth  all  sins;"  that  is,  a  man  under  the  influence  of 
hatred,  where  there  is  no  offence,  where  no  sin  against  him 
creates  it,  "  stirs  up  strife," — he  provokes,  he  magnifies,  he 


PART  I.]  TO  BE  MAINTAINED.  101 

multiplies  offences.  He,  as  it  were,  invites  attack,  and  he 
commonly  does  not  invite  it  in  vain.  But,  on  the  other  hand, 
love — that  is,  the  man  under  the  influence  of  benignant 
principle — "covers  all  sins;"  puts  down  all  strifes  and 
offences,  treats  them  as  if  they  were  not,  makes  them  as  if 
they  never  had  been.  I  think  it  must  be  very  plain  to  all, 
that  the  sins  here  referred  to  are  offences  committed  by 
one  brother  against  another ;  and  that  the  assertion  of  the 
apostle  is,  that  a  brother  under  the  influence  of  that  fer- 
vent charity  which  he  has  been  enjoining  will  cover  these 
offences,  even  though  there  should  be  many  of  them, — 
will,  so  far  as  the  peace  and  edification  of  the  brotherhood, 
whether  as  individuals  or  a  body,  are  concerned,  really  make 
them  as  if  they  had  never  existed. 

If  Christians  were  as  much  under  the  influence  of  love 
as  they  ought  to  be,  sins  against  each  other,  "  offences," 
would  not  exist ;  for  "  love  worketh  no  ill  to  his  neighbour  :" 
in  other  words,  the  man  entirely  under  the  influence  of 
love  can  do  no  injury  to  his  neighbour.  His  person,  his 
property,  his  reputation,  his  feelings,  all  his  interests,  are 
perfectly  safe.  The  whole  law  in  reference  to  a  Christian 
brother  is  summed  up  in  love — "  Owe  no  man  anything, 
but  to  love  one  another."^  If  that  debt  is  discharged,  our 
duty  is  done.  Were  Christians  habitually  acting  under  the 
power  of  fervent  charity,  there  would  be  no  sins,  no  offences 
to  cover.  But  such  a  state  of  things  has  never  yet  existed. 
We  have  no  reason  to  think  it  ever  will  exist  in  this  world. 
"Offences,"  says  the  Master,  "must  come;"  and  if  they 
are  not  met  in  the  spirit  of  love,  they  will  grow  and  mul- 
tiply. The  spark  will  become  a  flame,  and  the  flame  a 
conflagration. 

^  Rom.  xiii.  8.  '0<ps/X£r£  is  considered  by  some  interpreters  as  indi- 
cative, not  imperative,  here.  This  exegesis  seems  better  to  suit  the 
apostle's  c\irrent  of  thought  than  the  more  usual  one. 


102  BROTHERLY  LOVE  [DISC.  XIX. 

But  ''love  covereth  sins."  Fervent  charity  prevents  a 
man  from  giving  any  occasion  for  offence.  There  is  always 
a  want  of  love  in  the  offending  brother — the  offence  proves 
this  ;  but  had  there  been  more  love  in  the  offended  brother, 
and  had  that  love  been  more  plainly  manifested,  the  offence 
might  never  have  existed.  Had  there  been  more  Christian, 
that  is,  more  affectionate,  behaviour  on  the  part  of  him  who 
is  offended,  there  might  have  been  less,  tliere  might  have 
been  no,  unchristian  conduct  on  the  part  of  the  offender. 
Fervent  love  prevents  anything  like  a  handle  being  given 
for  the  unkindly  feelings  of  others  to  take  hold  of.  A 
christianly  benignant  disposition  naturally  leads  a  man  to 
give  his  Christian  brethren  credit  for  the  same  temper 
which  animates  himself,  and  consequently  prevents  him 
from  he'mcr  on  the  look-out  for  offences.  He  is  unwilling 
to  think  that  a  Christian  brother  means  to  injure  him,  for 
he  has  no  disposition  to  injure  any  brother ;  and  he  will 
gladly  admit  any  reasonable  account  of  a  piece  of  conduct 
which  may  wear  any  unkindly  aspect,  rather  than  have  re- 
course to  this  supposition.  This  temper  makes  him  overlook 
much  which  a  man  of  a  less  benignant  disposition  would 
account  offence. 

And  when  offence  does  present  itself  in  a  form  so  dis- 
tinctly defined  that  there  is  no  mistaking  it,  under  the 
power  of  fervent  love  he  covers  it,  inasmuch  as  he  gives  no 
unnecessary  publicity  to  it.  He  does  not  conceal  from  the 
offending  brother  that  he  is  aware  of  what  he  has  done, 
and  that  he  is  sensible  of  the  true  character  of  his  conduct. 
No  ;  as  no  brother  can  give  another  just  offence  without, 
in  the  estimation  of  that  brother,  having  violated  the  law 
of  their  common  Lord,  charity,  however  fervent,  does  not 
blind  him  either  to  the  reality  or  the  magnitude  of  the  fault. 
Were  he  deficient  in  charity,  he  might  be  silent  to  him 
while  eloquent  to  others  respecting  the  offence.     He  might 


PART  I]  TO  BE  MAINTAINED.  103 

cherish  hatred  to  the  offender  in  his  heart,  bear  a  grudge 
against  him,  and  meditate  vengeance.  But  he  who  loves 
his  neiglibour  as  himself  will  not  so  hate  his  offending 
brother  in  his  heart ;  he  will  not  suffer  sin  on  him,  he  will 
surely  rebuke  him.  But  he  will  cover  the  sin  by,  as  far  as 
lies  in  his  power,  concealing  it,  till  he  has  used  every  prac- 
ticable method  to  have  it  covered  by  hearty  forgiveness  or 
penitent  acknowledgment ;  and  if  he  be  obliged  to  discover 
the  offence  in  the  first  sense,  it  is  only  so  far  as  is  necessary 
in  order  to  having  it  covered  in  the  second  and  more  im- 
portant sense. 

The  offended  brother,  the  man  sinned  against,  if  he  act 
under  the  influence  of  fervent  love,  follows  the  wise  advice 
of  the  apocryphal  sage  :  "  Admonish  thy  friend ;  it  may  be 
he  hath  not  done  it ;  and  if  he  have  done  it,  tliat  he  do  it 
not  again.  Admonish  thy  friend  ;  it  may  be  that  he  hath 
not  said  it;  and  if  he  have,  that  he  speak  it  not  again. 
Admonish  a  friend ;  for  many  a  time  it  is  a  slander,  and 
believe  not  every  tale.  There  is  one  that  slippeth  in  his 
speech,  but  not  from  the  heart ;  and  who  is  he  who  hath 
not  offended  with  his  tongue  1"^  He  obeys  the  law  of  the 
Master  in  heaven.  If  his  brother  trespass  against  him,  he 
goes  and  tells  him  his  fault  by  himself  alone ;  and  if  he 
hear  him,  then  the  fault  which  he  has  never  divulged  has 
been  covered ;  so  far  as  he  is  concerned,  both  concealed  and 
forgiven.  It  is  as  if  it  had  not  been.  But  if  the  offending 
brother  will  not  hear  him,  he  takes  with  him  one  or  two 
more  of  the  brethren,  that  at  the  mouth  of  two  or  three 
witnesses  everything  may  be  established.  If  he  hear  them, 
then  too  the  sin  is  covered.  It  is  dismissed  from  his  mind, 
and  from  the  minds  of  those  who  were  necessarily  informed 
of  it,  and  they  regard  their  brother  as  before  he  had 
offended.  But  if  he  neglect  to  hear  them,  the  sin,  which 
1  Ecclus.  xix.  13. 


104  BROTHERLY  LOVE  [DISC.  XIX. 

in  the  sense  of  concealment  can  be  covered  no  longer,  must 
be  told  to  the  assembly  of  the  elders  or  of  the  brethren  ; 
and  if  the  offending  brother  hear  them  and  make  due 
acknowledgment,  even  then  love  covers  the  sin,  and  receives 
with  cordiality  the  offending  brother.  But  if  he  obstinately 
persist  in  opposition  to  the  mind  of  the  assembly,  then  the 
offence  is  covered  by  the  offender  being  removed  from  the 
society ;  his  conduct  being  henceforward  viewed  as  that  of 
a  man  not  connected  with  the  brotherhood — "  a  heathen 
man  and  a  publican ;"  and  therefore  not  likely  to  be  a  cause 
of  contention  in  the  Church,  nor  a  scandal  or  stumbling- 
block  to  the  world. ^ 

Love,  where  it  is  fervent,  will  operate  In  this  way,  not 
only  in  one  instance,  but  in  many  instances  ;  not  only  in 
the  case  of  one  offending  brother,  but  of  every  offending 
brother ;  and  not  in  the  case  only  of  one  or  a  few  offences, 
but  in  the  case  of  many  offences,  even  from  the  same 
brother.  The  course  prescribed  by  our  Lord  in  his  law, 
is  just  the  course  which  the  love  produced  in  the  heart  by 
his  Spirit,  by  means  of  his  truth,  naturally  suggests.  "  It 
is  impossible,"  says  the  Master,  "  but  that  offences  should 
come.  Take  heed  to  yourselves.  If  thy  brother  trespass 
against  thee,  rebuke  him  ;  and  if  he  repent,  forgive  him  ; 
and  if  he  trespass  against  thee  seven  times  in  a  day,  and 
seven  times  in  a  day  turn  again  to  thee,  saying,  I  repent, 
thou  shalt  forgive  him."  "  How  oft  shall  my  brother,"  said 
Peter,  with  characteristic  forwardness,  "  sin  against  me, 
and  I  forgive  him  ?  till  seven  times  ?  Jesus  saith  unto 
him,  I  say  not  unto  thee.  Until  seven  times  ;  but.  Until 
seventy  times  seven."  ^  So  long  as  you  and  he  stand  in 
the  relation  of  brothers,  love  must  be  ready  to  cover  his 
sins,  however  numerous.  Such  seems  to  me  the  meaning 
of  the  apostle's  statement :  "  Charity,"  that  is,  such  fervent 
1  Matt,  xviii.  15,  17.         ^  Matt,  xviii.  7,  21,  22  ;  Luke  xvii.  3,  4. 


PART  I.l  TO  BE  MAINTAINED.  105 

charity  as  he  had  enjoined  in  the  preceding  clause,  "  covers 
a  mukitude  of  sins." 

A  very  few  words  will  suffice  for  showing  the  force  which 
this  statement  has  as  a  motive  to  the  duty  which  the  apostle 
has  enjoined.  "  Have  fervent  charity  among  yourselves, 
for  charity  covereth  a  multitude  of  sins."  "  Offences  must 
needs  come."  Brethren  will  sin  against  brethren.  If  these 
sins  are  not  covered,  what  is  the  consequence  likely  to  be  ? 
"  The  beginning  of  strife  is  like  the  letting  out  of  waters." 
Contentions  will  be  extended  and  perpetuated.  There  will 
be  schisms  in  the  body.  Individual  edification  will  be 
materially  interfered  with.  The  Spirit  of  Love  will  be 
grieved.  The  Holy  Dove  will  be  driven  away.  The 
Church  will  become  impure,  schismatical,  utterly  unfit  for 
answering  her  great  purpose,  to  exhibit  and  to  extend  the 
religion  of  love.  Biting  and  devouring  each  other.  Chris- 
tians will  be  consumed  of  each  other.  Roots  of  bitterness 
will  spring  up  and  flourish,  and  the  result  will  be  trouble 
and  defilement.  There  will  be  envying  and  strife,  con- 
fusion and  every  evil  work.  Plausibility  will  be  given  to 
the  objections  of  infidels,  and  men  will  be  deterred  from 
connecting  themselves  with  so  suicidal  a  society,  as  in  this 
case  the  Church  will  prove  itself. 

This  must  be  the  result  if  sins  are  not  covered,  and  sins 
can  only  be  covered  by  charity,  by  fervent  charity ;  and 
though  these  sins  are  many  (the  more  pity  that  it  should 
be  so),  if  there  is  so  much  fervent  charity  among  the 
brethren  as  to  cover  them,  what  is  the  result  I  The  ex- 
cellence of  Christian  truth,  the  power  of  divine  grace,  are 
just  so  much  the  more  illustriously  displayed  in  triumphing 
over  the  unruly  passions  and  the  worldly  interests  of  men. 
The  disjointed  yet  sound  members,  reset  by  the  skilful 
tender  hand  of  enlightened  charity,  become  more  firmly 
united   and   stronger   than  ever ;    and  incurably  diseased 


106  BROTHERLY  LOVE  [DISC.  XIX. 

portions  of  the  body,  which,  if  retained  in  it,  would  have 
eaten  as  does  a  canker,  and  diffused  languor  and  weakness 
through  the  whole  body,  are,  by  the  same  wise  spiritual 
surgery,  amputated  ;  so  that,  under  the  influence  of  truth- 
ful love.  Christians  "  grow  up  to  him  in  all  things  who  is 
the  head  ;"  and  "the  whole  body  being  joined  together  and 
compacted  by  that  which  every  joint  supplieth,  according 
to  the  effectual  working  in  every  part,  maketh  increase  to 
the  edifying  of  itself  in  love."  The  brethren  live  in  peace, 
and  the  God  of  peace  manifests  his  gracious  presence  in 
the  midst  of  them.  "  The  churches  rest,  and  are  edified  ; 
and  walking  in  the  fear  of  the  Lord,  and  in  the  comfort  of 
the  Holy  Ghost,  are  multiplied."  The  Church  becomes 
pure,  and  united,  and  strong,  and  beautiful  in  her  holy 
union  ;  and,  free  from  internal  quarrels  and  divisions,  pro- 
secutes with  ardour  and  success  her  holy  warfare  with  the 
enemies  of  her  Lord  and  King,  while  angels  look  on  witli 
delight,  and  devils  with  terror. 

This  would  be  the  effect,  were  there  fervent  charity 
enousfh  amono;  the  brethren  to  cover  all  sins.  Love  can 
do  this — ay !  love  should  do  this.  Nothing  but  love  can 
do  it ;  no  knowledge,  no  faith,  no  power  of  intellect,  no 
energy  of  exertion,  no  labours,  no  sufferings,  can  effect  this 
without  love.  Is  it  wonderful,  then,  when  love  can  cover 
a  multitude  of  sins,  all  sins,  and  when  nothing  else  can  do 
so,  and  when  by  doing  so  such  evils  would  be  avoided 
and  such  glorious  results  secured,  that  the  apostle  should 
use  such  urgency  of  persuasion,  and  call  on  Christians 
"  above  all  things  to  have  fervent  charity,"  or  to  have 
charity  fervent,  "among  themselves'?" 

I  shut  up  this  part  of  the  discourse  bj  quoting  a  few 
passages  of  Scripture,  in  which  the  cultivation  of  brotherly 
Christian  love  is  pressed  on  Christians,  praying  that  the 
Holy  Spirit,  who  is  the  Spirit  of  love,  would  write  them  on 


PART  I.]  TO  BE  MAINTAINED.  107 

our  hearts,  and  put  them  in  our  inward  parts.  "  A  new 
commandment,"  says  the  Master,  "a  new  commandment 
I  have  given  unto  you,  That  ye  love  one  another  ;  as  I  have 
loved  you,  that  ye  also  love  one  another.  By  this  shall  all 
men  know  that  ye  are  my  disciples,  if  ye  have  love  one  to 
another."  "  Be  kindly  affectioned  one  towards  another  in 
brotherly  love,"  says  one  of  his  holy  apostles,  "  with  all 
lowliness  of  mind,  forbearino;  one  another  in  love ;  endea- 
vouring  to  keep  the  unity  of  the  Spirit  in  the  bond  of  peace. 
The  fruit  of  the  Spirit  is  love,  peace,  long-suffering,  gentle- 
ness, goodness" — that  is,  kindness — "meekness.  Live  in 
the  Spirit,  walk  in  the  Spirit.  Grieve  not  the  Holy  Spirit 
of  God.  Let  all  bitterness,  and  wrath,  and  anger,  and 
clamour,  and  evil-speaking,  be  put  away  from  you,  with  all 
malice  ;  and  be  kind  one  to  another,  tender-hearted,  for- 
giving one  another,  even  as  God  for  Christ's  sake  hath 
forgiven  you.  Be  followers  of  God  as  dear  children,  and 
walk  in  love,  as  Christ  also  hath  loved  us.  Put  on  as  the 
elect  of  God,  holy  and  beloved,  bo\^els  of  mercies,  kindness, 
humbleness  of  mind,  long-suffering;  forbearing  one  another, 
and  forgiving  one  another,  if  any  man  have  a  quarrel  against 
any  :  even  as  Christ  forgave  you,  so  also  do  ye."  "  Ye  are 
taught  of  God  to  love  one  another."  "The  end  of  the 
commandment  is  charity."  "Follow  after  love,  patience, 
meekness."  "  Let  brotherly  love  continue."  "  The  wisdom 
that  Cometh  from  above,"  says  another  apostle,  "is  first 
pure,  then  peaceable,  gentle,  and  easy  to  be  entreated,  full 
of  mercy  and  good  fruits,  without  partiality,  and  without 
hypocrisy."  "Seeing  ye  have  purified  yourselves,"  says  a 
third  apostle,  "in  obeying  the  truth  through  the  Spirit 
unto  unfeigned  love  of  the  brethren,  see  that  ye  love  one 
another  with  a  pure  heart  fervently.  Be  of  one  mind, 
having  compassion  one  of  another ;  love  as  brethren." 
"  He,"   says  a  fourth,  who  had  a  very  large  measure  of 


108  BROTHERLY  LOVE  [DISC.  XIX. 

the  spirit  of  his  Master, — '"he  that  saith  he  is  in  the  light, 
and  hateth  his  brother,  is  in  the  darkness  even  until  now. 
He  that  loveth  his  brother  abideth  in  the  light,  and  there 
is  no  occasion  of  stumbling  in  him.  Whosoever  loveth  not 
his  brother,  is  not  of  God.  We  know  that  we  have  passed 
from  death  to  life,  because  we  love  the  brethren.  Whoso- 
ever hateth  his  brother,  is  a  murderer.  Hereby  perceive  we 
the  love  of  God,  that  he  laid  down  his  life  for  us  ;  and  we 
ought  to  lay  down  our  lives  for  the  brethren.  My  little 
children,  let  us  not  love  in  word,  neither  in  tongue,  but  in 
deed  and  in  truth.  This  is  his  commandment.  That  we 
believe  in  his  Son  Jesus  Christ,  and  love  one  another,  as 
he  gave  us  commandment.  Beloved,  let  us  love  one  another: 
for  love  is  of  God ;  and  every  one  that  loveth  is  born  of 
God,  and  knoweth  God.  He  that  loveth  not,  knoweth  not 
God ;  for  God  is  love.  Herein  is  love,  not  that  we  loved 
God,  but  that  he  loved  us,  and  sent  his  Son  to  be  the  pro- 
pitiation for  our  sins.  Beloved,  if  God  so  loved  us,  we 
ought  also  to  love  one  another.  If  a  man  say,  I  love  God, 
and  hate  his  brother,  he  is  a  liar ;  for  he  who  loveth  not 
his  brother  whom  he  hath  seen,  how  can  he  love  God 
whom  he  hath  not  seen  ?  And  this  commandment  have  we 
of  him.  That  he  who  loveth  God  love  his  neighbour  also." 
That  we  should  love  one  another  :  this  is  the  command- 
ment which  we  have  received  from  the  beginning,  that  we 
should  walk  in  it.^ 

My  beloved  brethren,  "  if  ye  know  these  things,  happy 
are  ye  if  ye  do  them."  We  have  much  cause  to  be  thank- 
ful for  that  measure  of  the  spirit  of  love  which  our  Father 
has  been  pleased  to  shed  on  us  as  a  congregation,  through 

1  John  xiii.  34,  35  ;  Rom.  xii.  10 ;  Epli.  iv.  3  ;  Gal.  v.  22,  25 ;  Eph. 
iv.  30-32,  V.  1,  2 ;  Col.  iii.  12 ;  1  Thess.  iv.  9 ;  1  Tim.  i,  5,  vi.  11  ;  Heb. 
xiii.  1  ;  James  iii.  17  ;  1  Pet.  i.  22,  iii.  8  ;  1  John  ii.  9,  11,  iii.  14-16,  23, 
iv.  7,  11,  20,  21  ;  2  John  5. 


PART  II.]  TO  BE  MANIFESTED.  109 

Christ  Jesus,  and  for  that  peace  which  is  springing  out  of 
it.  Let  us  carefully  guard  against  whatever  may  cool  our 
love  or  break  our  harmony.  Let  us  all  seek  to  be  kept 
near  Christ,  that  we  may  be  kept  near  each  other ;  and  let 
us  pray  that  our  love  to  our  Lord,  to  one  another,  to  all  the 
saints,  to  all  men,  "  may  abound  yet  more  and  more  in 
knowledge  and  in  all  judgment,"  and  may  become  more 
and  more  effectual  in  producing  personal  and  mutual  edifi- 
cation, and  in  promoting  the  prosperity  and  extension  of 
the  kingdom  which  is  not  of  this  world,  making  us  to  be  of 
one  mind — his  mind,  of  one  heart — his  heart ;  a  mind  all 
light,  a  heart  all  love. 

II.    THE  MANIFESTATION  OF  BROTHERLY  LOVE. 

Let  us  now  proceed  to  the  consideration  of  the  apostle's 
injunction  and  recommendation  of  the  manifestation  of 
Christian  brotherly  love.  The  fervent  love  which  they 
were  to  cherish  among  themselves  was  to  be  manifested  in 
performing  kind  offices  to  each  other  as  men,  and  in  pro- 
moting the  spiritual  interests  of  each  other  as  Christians., 
They  were  to  employ  their  worldly  property  in  the  first  of 
these  manifestations  of  brotherly  love,  and  their  spiritual 
gifts  in  the  second ;  and  the  grand  motive  influencing  them 
in  both  was  to  be,  that  they  were  stewards,  and  ought  to  be 
good  stewards  of  the  manifold  grace  of  God ;  and  "  that 
God  in  all  things  might  be  glorified  through  Jesus  Christ." 
Let  us  attend,  then,  in  succession  to  these  two  enjoined 
manifestations  of  Christian  brotherly  love,  and  to  the  power- 
ful motives  by  which  both  are  enforced.  "  Use  hospitality 
one  to  another,  without  grudging.  As  every  man  hath 
received  the  gift,  even  so  minister  the  same  one  to  another, 
as  good  stewards  of  the  manifold  grace  of  God.  If  any 
man  speak,  let  him  speak  as  the  oracles  of  God ;  if  any 


110  BROTHERLY  LOVE  [DISC.  XIX. 

man  minister,  let  him  do  it  as  of  the  ability  which  God 
giveth ;  that  God  in  all  things  may  be  glorified  through 
Jesus  Christ :  to  whom  be  praise  and  dominion  for  ever 
and  ever.     Amen." 

§  1.  Christians  are  to  manifest  hrotherly  love  hy  employing 
their  property  for  each  other  s  good  as  men,  as  in  un- 
grudging hospitality. 

We  observe,  then,  in  the  first  place,  that  Christians  are 
to  manifest  the  fervent  love  which  they  have  among  them- 
selves, by  employing  their  worldly  property  in  performing 
kind  offices  to  each  other  as  men.  Of  these  kind  offices 
we  have  a  specimen  in  the  ungrudging  hospitality  which  is 
here  enjoined  :  "  Use  hospitality  one  to  another,  without 
grudging." 

The  habit  of  inviting  in  considerable  numbers  to  our 
houses  and  tables,  neighbours,  acquaintances,  and  friends, 
in  rank  equal  or  superior  to  ourselves,  and  giving  them  a 
sumptuous  entertainment,  is  what  in  our  times  generally 
passes  by  the  name  of  hospitality.  Where  God's  good 
creatures  are  not  abused,  which  they  often  are,  as  stimulants 
and  gratifications  to  intemperate  appetite,  and  when  these 
entertainments  are  not  so  expensive  or  so  frequent  as  to 
waste  an  undue  proportion  of  our  substance  and  time,  and 
to  interfere  with  the  right  discharge  of  the  duties  of  family 
instruction  and  devotion,  there  is  nothing  wrong  in  them. 
I  believe  we  may  go  a  little  further,  and  say  that  in  this 
case  they  are  fitted  to  serve  a  good  purpose,  in  keeping  up 
friendly  intercourse  among  relations  and  friends. 

But  they  are  put  out  of  their  place  altogether  when  they 
are  considered  as  a  substitute  for  the  Christian  duty  of 
hospitality.  It  is  plain  that  our  Lord  did  not  condemn 
such  meetings,  for  we  find  him  not  unfrequently  present  at 
them  ;  but  he  obviously  looked  on  them  as  capable  of  being 


PART  II.]  TO  BE  MANIFESTED.  Ill 

better  managed  and  turned  to  more  useful  purposes  than 
they  commonly  were  among  the  Jews  in  his  time.  "  When 
thou  makest  a  dinner  or  a  supper,"  said  our  Lord  to  one  of 
the  chief  Pharisees  who  had  invited  him  to  his  table,  "  call 
not  thy  friends,  nor  thy  brethren,  neither  thy  kinsmen,  nor 
thy  rich  neighbours ;  lest  they  also  bid  thee  again,  and  a 
recompense  be  made  thee.  But  when  thou  makest  a  feast, 
call  the  poor,  the  maimed,  the  lame,  the  blind :  and  thou 
shalt  be  blessed  ;  for  they  cannot  recompense  thee  :  for  thou 
shalt  be  recompensed  at  the  resurrection  of  the  just."^ 

We  are  certainly  not  to  consider  these  words  of  our  Lord 
as  a  prohibition  of  convivial  intercourse  among  equals,  the 
entertaining  on  proper  occasions  in  a  suitable  manner  of 
our  wealthy  neighbours,  friends,  and  relatives ;  but  we  are 
to  understand  that  in  doing  so  we  are  rather  complying 
with  an  innocent  and  useful  social  usage  than  performing 
an  important  Christian  duty ;  and  that  the  proportion  of 
our  property  devoted  to  feeding  the  poor  should  very  much 
exceed  that  expended  in  feasting  the  rich.  What  are 
termed  hospitable  entertainments,  are  very  generally  mani- 
festations of  vanity  and  pride  on  the  part  of  those  who  give 
them.  In  a  very  limited  degree  are  they  the  real  expression 
of  even  a  very  low  form  of  benevolent  regard  to  those  to 
whom  they  are  given.  The  expense  at  which  they  are 
made  is  not  incurred  from  love  to  God,  regard  to  his  autho- 
rity, or  a  wish  to  promote  his  glory.  Reward  from  him  is 
altogether  out  of  the  question ;  and  the  applause,  or  what 
is  in  some  instances  more  relished  still,  the  envy  of  others, 
and  a  similar  banquet  in  return,  are  the  appropriate  and 
the  wished-for  recompense.  It  is  deeply  to  be  regretted 
that  so  many  professors  of  Christianity  are  in  this  respect 
unduly  conformed  to  the  word,  and  lavish  on  these  thank- 
less and  profitless  entertainments  sums   which   might   so 

1  Luke  xiv.  12-14. 


112  BROTHERLY  LOVE  [DISC.  XIX. 

easily  be  turned  to  so  much  better  account  in  relieving  the 
wants  and  adding  to  the  comforts  of  the  poor  and  destitute  ; 
or  in  promoting  the  glory  of  God  and  the  highest  interests 
of  mankind,  by  diffusing  "  the  knowledge  of  salvation 
through  the  remission  of  sins." 

But  the  occasional  entertainment  of  our  acquaintances, 
whether  poor  or  rich,  however  unobjectionably  and  even 
usefully  conducted,  is  not  the  Christian  duty  which  under 
the  name  of  hospitality  is  here  and  in  so  many  other  pas- 
sages of  the  New  Testament  recommended.  Hospitality  is 
kindness  to  strangers,  to  persons  not  generally  resident  in 
the  same  place  with  ourselves,  to  persons  with  whom  we 
are  not  on  habits  of  intimate  acquaintanceship ;  and  this 
kindness  is  manifested  by  bringing  them  to  our  houses,  and 
furnishing  them  with  suitable  entertainment  there. 

We  have  this  duty  strikingly  illustrated  in  the  case  of 
Abraham  and  of  Lot,  when  they  "  entertained  angels  un- 
awares." Nothing  can  be  more  beautifully  simple  than  the 
inspired  narrative  :  "  And  Abraham  sat  in  the  door  of  his 
tent  in  Mamre,  in  the  heat  of  the  day ;  and  he  lift  up  his 
eyes  and  looked,  and,  lo,  three  men  stood  by  him  :  and 
when  he  saw  them,  he  ran  to  meet  them  from  the  tent- 
door,  and  bowed  himself  toward  the  ground,  and  said,  My 
lord,  if  now  I  have  found  favour  in  thy  sight,  pass  not 
away,  I  pray  thee,  from  thy  servant.  Let  a  little  water,  I 
pray  you,  be  fetched,  and  wash  your  feet,  and  rest  your- 
selves under  the  tree  :  and  I  will  fetch  a  morsel  of  bread, 
and  comfort  ye  your  hearts ;  after  that  ye  shall  pass  on : 
for  therefore  are  ye  come  to  your  servant.  And  they  said, 
So  do  as  thou  hast  said.  And  Abraham  hastened  into  the 
tent  unto  Sarah,  and  said.  Make  ready  quickly  three  mea- 
sures of  fine  meal,  knead  it,  and  make  cakes  upon  the 
hearth.  And  Abraham  ran  unto  the  herd,  and  fetched  a 
calf  tender  and  good,  and  gave  it  unto  a  young  man  ;  and 


PART  II.]  TO  BE  MANIFESTED.  113 

he  hasted  to  dress  It.  And  he  took  butter  and  milk,  and 
the  calf  which  he  had  dressed,  and  set  it  before  them ;  and 
he  stood  by  them  under  the  tree,  and  they  did  eat."  And 
when  two  of  these  illustrious  strangers  entered  Sodom, 
"  Lot,  sitting  in  the  gate,  rose  up  to  meet  them  ;  and  bowed 
himself  with  his  face  toward  the  ground :  and  he  said, 
Behold  now,  my  lords,  turn  in,  I  pray  you,  into  your  ser- 
vant's house,  and  tarry  all  night,  and  wash  your  feet,  and 
ye  shall  rise  up  early,  and  go  on  your  way.  And  when 
they  said.  Nay,  but  we  will  abide  in  the  street  all  night,  he 
pressed  upon  them  greatly  ;  and  they  turned  in  unto  him, 
and  entered  into  his  house ;  and  he  made  them  a  feast,  and 
did  bake  unleavened  bread,  and  they  did  eat."  ^  This  was 
ancient  hospitality. 

In  the  same  spirit  we  find  Jethro  saying  to  his  daughters, 
in  reference  to  the  stranger  who  had  assisted  them  in 
watering  their  flocks,  "  And  where  is  he  1  why  is  it  that  ye 
left  the  man  ?  call  him,  that  he  may  eat  bread."  ^ 

An  instance  of  this  virtue,  not  less  interesting,  is  to  be 
found  in  the  case  of  the  aged  "  working  man  "  of  Gibeah : 
"  Behold,  there  came  an  old  man  from  his  work  out  of  the 
field  at  even.  And  when  he  had  lifted  up  his  eyes,  he  saw 
a  wayfaring  man  in  the  street  of  the  city:  and  the  old  man 
said.  Whither  goest  thou  ?  and  whence  comest  thou  ?  And 
he  said  unto  him.  We  are  passing  from  Bethlehem-Judah 
toward  the  side  of  Mount  Ephraim  ;  from  thence  am  I : 
and  I  went  to  Bethlehem,  but  I  am  now  going  to  the  house 
of  the  Lord  ;  and  there  is  no  man  that  receiveth  me  into 
his  house.  Yet  is  there  both  straw  and  provender  for  our 
asses ;  and  tliere  is  bi'ead  and  wine  also  for  me,  and  thine 
handmaid,  and  for  the  young  man  with  thy  servant :  there 
is  no  want  of  anything.  And  the  old  man  said.  Peace  be 
with  thee  :  howsoever,  let  all  thy  wants  lie  upon  me  ;  only 
1  Gen.  xviii.  1-8,  xix.  1-3.  -  Ex.  ii.  18-20. 

VOL.  III.  H 


114  BROTHERLY  LOVE  [DISC.  XIX. 

lodge  not  in  the  street.  So  he  brought  him  into  the  house, 
and  gave  provender  to  the  asses ;  and  they  washed  their 
feet,  and  did  eat  and  drink."  ^ 

Kindness  to  strangers  was  not  only  included  in  the 
second  great  command,  "  Thou  shalt  love  thy  neighbour  as 
thyself,"  but  was  the  subject  of  express  legislation  in  the 
Mosaic  code.  "  If  a  stranger  sojourn  with  thee  in  your 
land,  ye  shall  not  vex  him.  But  the  stranger  that  dwelleth 
with  you  shall  be  unto  you  as  one  born  among  you,  and 
thou  shalt  love  him  as  thyself ;  for  ye  were  strangers  in  the 
land  of  Egypt :  I  am  the  Lord  thy  God.  The  Levite, 
because  he  hath  no  part  nor  inheritance  with  thee,  the 
stranger,  and  the  fatherless,  and  the  widow,  which  are 
within  thy  gates,  shall  come,  and  shall  eat  and  be  satisfied," 
at  the  feast  made  on  the  tithe  of  the  increase  being  set 
apart,  at  the  end  of  every  third  year,  "  that  the  Lord  thy 
God  may  bless  thee  in  all  the  works  of  thine  hand  which 
thou  doest."^ 

In  the  New  Testament,  a  disposition  to  entertain  strangers 
is  represented  as  a  necessary  qualification  of  a  Christian 
bishop.  He  must  be  "  given  to  hospitality,"  "  a  lover  of 
hospitality;"  and  it  is  mentioned  as  one  of  the  characteristics 
of  "  the  widow  indeed,"  that  she  has  "  lodged  strangers, 
and  washed  the  saints'  feet."  And  Christians  generally  are 
expected  to  be  "  given  to  hospitality,"  and  not  to  be  "  forget- 
ful to  entertain  strangers."^ 

Nor  is  the  duty  only  enjoined  in  the  New  Testament ;  it 
is  also  exemplified.  When  Lydia  was  baptized,  "  she  be- 
sought Paul  and  his  companions,"  strangers  in  Philippi, 
"  saying,  If  ye  have  judged  me  faithful  to  the  Lord,  come 
into  my  house  and  abide  there ;  and  she  constrained  them." 
Mnason  from  Cyprus,  "  the  old  disciple,"  entertained  Paul 

1  Judg.  xix.  16-21.  2  Ex.  xxii.  21,  xxiii.  9 ;  Lev.  xix.  33. 

3  1  Tim.  iii.  2 ;  Tit.  i.  8  ;  1  Tim.  v.  10  ;  Rom.  xii.  13. 


PART  II.]  TO  BE  MANIFESTED.  115 

and  his  associates  iu  Jerusalem.  Gaius,  at  Corinth,  was  so 
remarkable  for  his  hospitality,  that  Paul  calls  him  his  host, 
and  the  host  of  the  whole  church ;  and  Philemon  refreshed 
the  bowels  of  the  saints,  and  prepared  Paul  a  lodging.^ 

There  can  be  no  doubt  that  Christians  are  bound  to 
exercise  kindness  to  strangers  generally,  though  they  should 
not  belong  to  the  Christian  society.  In  every  way  in  their 
power,  they  ought  to  "  do  good  to  all  men,  as  they  have 
opportunity;"  but  it  is  quite  plain  that  the  injunction  before 
us  has  an  especial  reference  to  "the  household  of  faith:" 
"  Use  hospitality  cunong  yourselves."  When  Christians  in 
the  course  of  their  ordinary  business  went  from  home,  as 
the  means  for  accommodating;  strangers  were  not  at  all  so 
abundant  as  in  modern  times,  their  brethren  in  the  countries 
or  cities  they  visited  were  expected  to  minister  to  their 
wants  and  convenience.  "  I  commend  unto  you  Phebe, 
our  sister,"  says  the  apostle  to  the  church  at  Rome,  not 
only  "  that  ye  receive  her  in  the  Lord,  as  becometh  saints," 
that  is,  admit  her  to  fellowship  with  you  in  the  ordinances 
of  religion,  but  also  "  that  ye  assist  her  in  whatsoever  busi- 
ness she  hath  need  of  you ;  for  she  hath  been  a  succourer 
of  many,  and  of  myself  also  ;"^  that  is.  Be  hospitable  to  her 
who  has  been  hospitable  to  me  and  many  others. 

Christians  driven  from  their  homes  by  persecution,  were 
those  who  had  the  strongest  claims  on  the  hospitality  of 
their  more  favoured  brethren  ;  and  next  to,  or  it  may  be 
equal  to,  their  claim,  was  that  of  those  who  had  devoted 
their  lives  to  the  service  of  Christ  among  the  heathen.  It 
is  in  reference  to  them  that  the  Apostle  John  speaks  to  the 
beloved  Gaius  :  "  Beloved,  thou  doest  faithfully,"  or  thou 
actest  the  part  of  a  believer,  "  whatsoever  thou  doest  to  the 
brethren,  and  to  strangers  ;  which  have  borne  witness  of 

1  Acts  xvi.  14,  15,  xxi.  IG  ;  Rom.  xvi.  23  ;  Phikm.  7,  22. 
-  Rom.  xvi.  1,  2. 


116  BROTHERLY  LOVE  [DISC.  XIX. 

thy  charity  before  the  church ;  wliom  if  thou  bring  forward 
on  their  journey  after  a  godly  sort,  thou  shalt  do  well : 
because  that  for  his  name's  sake  they  went  forth,  taking 
nothing  of  the  Gentiles.  We  therefore  oue;ht  to  receive 
such,  that  we  might  be  fellow-helpers  to  the  truth." ^ 

The  abundant  accommodation  which  the  habits  of  modern 
times  have  secured  for  strangers  sojourning  for  a  season 
from  home,  and  the  extent  to  which  movement  from  place 
to  place  now  prevails,  makes  hospitality,  in  the  same  sense 
and  in  the  same  measure  as  in  the  primitive  times,  unneces- 
sary, and  indeed  impracticable.  But  Christian  morality  in 
its  spirit  is  for  all  countries  and  for  all  ages.  It  is,  like  its 
Author,  unchanged  and  unchangeable.  It  is  a  proof  that 
love  has  waxed  cold  when  Christians  are  not  disposed  to 
pay  kind  attention  to  their  brethren  from  other  places,  who 
have  no  claim  on  their  attention  but  that  they  are  "  one 
with  them  in  Christ." 

The  prevalence  of  such  an  inhospitable  spirit  is  in  more 
ways  than  one  a  proof  that  the  purity  of  Christian  com- 
munion in  these  last  days  has  declined  from  its  primitive 
standard ;  and  it  has  often  seemed  to  me  a  token  that 
things  are  not  as  they  should  be  among  us,  when  Christians 
from  foreign  lands,  agents  of  our  christianly  benevolent 
institutions,  prosecuting  their  objects,  and  office-bearers  of 
the  various  Christian  churches  visiting  our  large  cities  on 
business  connected  with  the  maintenance  and  extension  of 
the  kingdom  of  Christ,  in  so  many  instances  at  an  expense 
they  can  often  ill  afford,  have  to  take  up  their  abodes  for  a 
few  days,  it  may  be  for  a  few  weeks,  in  houses  of  public 
accommodation,  instead  of  finding  an  Abraham,  a  Lot,  a 
Jethro,  an  old  man  of  Gibeah,  a  Lydia,  a  Gains,  or  a 
Mnason,  to  entertain  them  ;  and  have  sometimes  cause  to 
complain,  that  but  for  meeting  some  of  the  leading  men  in 
1  3  John  5-8.     See  note  A. 


PART  II.]  TO  BE  MANIFESTED.  117 

public,  in  the  prosecution  of  their  objects,  they  leave  those 
cities  as  little  acquainted  with  their  Christian  inhabitants 
as  when  they  entered  them. 

Surely  Christians  should  not  be  behind  the  Jews  in 
respect  to  religious  hospitality.  At  the  great  national 
Jewish  festivals,  hospitality  was  liberally  practised  so  long 
as  national  identity  existed.  On  these  occasions  no  inhabi- 
tant of  Jerusalem  considered  his  house  his  own.  Every 
house  swarmed  with  strangers,  though  even  this  unbounded 
hospitality  could  not  find  accommodation  in  the  houses  for 
all  who  stood  in  need  of  it,  and  a  large  proportion  of  visitors 
had  to  be  content  with  such  shelter  as  tents  could  afford. 

The  neglected  Christian  strangers  are  not  the  only,  are 
not  the  principal,  sufferers.  In  receiving  them,  we  might 
have  "received  angels  unawares ;"  and  we  should  not  forget 
who  it  is  who  will  one  day  say,  "  I  was  a  stranger,  and  ye 
took  me  in :  I  was  a  stranger,  and  ye  took  me  not  in ;"  and 
who,  when  the  questions  shall  be  put.  When  saw  we  thee 
a  stranger,  and  took  thee  in  ?  when  saw  we  thee  a  stranger, 
and  took  thee  not  in  ?  shall  answer,  "  Inasmuch  as  ye  did 
it  to  the  least  of  these  my  brethren,  ye  did  it  to  me :  Inas- 
much as  ye  did  it  not  to  one  of  the  least  of  these  my 
brethren,  ye  did  it  not  unto  me."^ 

Using  hospitality  is  but  one  out  of  many  ways  in  which 
brotherly  kindness  is  to  be  manifested  in  employing  worldly 
substance  in  performing  offices  of  kindness  to  our  fellow- 
Christians.  The  Christian,  according  to  his  ability,,  m-ust 
be  "  eyes  to  the  blind,  feet  to  the  lame,  and  a  father  to  the 
afflicted  poor."  The  Christian  law  of  love  confirms  the 
benignant  statutes  of  the  Mosaic  code  :  "  If  thy  brother  be 
waxen  poor,  and  fallen  in  decay  with  thee,  then  thou  shalt 
relieve  him ;  yea,  though  he  be  a  stranger,  or  a  sojourner. 
Ye  shall  not  rule  over  one  another  with  rigour.  If  there 
1  Matt.  XXV.  35-46. 


118  BROTHERLY  LOVE  [DISC.  XIX. 

be  among  you  a  poor  man,  one  of  thy  brethren,  thou  shalt 
not  harden  thy  heart,  nor  shut  thine  hand  from  thy  poor 
brother :  but  thou  shalt  open  thy  hand  wide  unto  him. 
Beware  lest  thine  eye  be  evil  against  thy  poor  brother,  and 
thou  givest  him  nought,  and  he  cry  unto  the  Lord  against 
thee,  and  it  be  sin  unto  thee :  thou  shalt  surely  give  him, 
and  thine  heart  shall  not  be  grieved  when  thou  givest  to 
him.  Thou  shalt  open  thine  hand  wide  unto  thy  brother, 
to  thy  poor,  and  thy  needy,  in  thy  land."  "  If  a  brother 
have  this  world's  goods,  and  see  his  brother  in  need,"  he 
must  not  "shut  up  his  bowels  of  compassion  from  him;" 
he  must  not  be  contented  with  saying,  Be  ye  warmed  and 
filled;  he  must  "love  not  in  word,  nor  in  tongue,  but  in  deed 
and  in  truth  ;"  he  must  "give  him  those  things  which  are 
needful  to  the  body;"  and  though  community  of  property 
is  by  no  means  required  by  the  Christian  law,  though  there 
is  no  sufficient  reason  for  thinking  that  it  prevailed  as  a 
matter  of  necessity  or  obligation  even  in  the  primitive 
times,^  yet  where  the  spirit  of  primitive  Christianity  pre- 
vails, wherever  "  the  disciples  are  of  one  mind  and  of  one 
heart,"  they  will  in  effect  have  "all  things  common,"  "doing 
good  "  to  one  another  and  "  to  all  men  as  they  have  oppor- 
tunity," and  valuing  worldly  property  chiefly  as  affording 
the  means  of  glorifying  God,  and  promoting  the  happiness 
of  our  fellow-men,  and  still  more  our  fellow-Christians. 

The  particular  form  and  measure  of  hospitality,  and  other 
kindred  offices  of  kindness,  must  depend  on  circumstances. 
It  must  be  "  as  God  has  prospered  us,"  and  "  as  we  have 
opportunity."  It  is  well  observed  by  Leighton,  that  "  the 
great  straitening  of  hands  in  these  things  is  more  from  the 
straitness  of  hearts  than  of  means.     A  large  heart  with  a 

^  Vide  Mosheimii  "  Commentatio "  "de  vei'a  natura  Commumonis 
Bonorum  in  Ecclesia  Hierosolymitana. "  Diss,  ad  Hist.  Ecclesiast. 
pertin.     Vol.  ii.  pp.  14,  etc. 


PART  II.]  TO  BE  MANIFESTED.  119 

little  estate  will  do  mucli  with  cheerfulness  and  little  noise ; 
while  hearts  glued  to  the  poor  riches  they  possess,  or  rather 
are  possessed  by,  can  scarce  part  with  anything  till  they  be 
pulled  from  all." 

In  whatever  measure  these  deeds  of  kindness  are  done, 
it  is  essential  that  they  all  possess  the  quality  which  the 
apostle  requires  in  hospitality,  that  they  be  "  without 
grudging."  "  All  things"  of  this  kind  are  to  be  done 
"  without  murmurings."  "  Every  man,  according  as  he 
hath  purposed  in  his  heart,  so  let  him  give,"  so  let  him  act ; 
"  for  God  loveth  a  cheerful  giver,"^  a  cheerful  doer.  Good 
offices  reluctantly  rendered  lose  more  than  half  their  value. 
It  is  only  when  they  really  embody  love  that  they  are 
acceptable  to  God  ;  and  it  is  only  in  the  degree  in  which 
they  appear  to  embody  love,  that  they  are  gratifying  to  their 
objects.  So  much  for  the  first  way  in  which  Christians 
are  to  manifest  brotherly  love,  by  employing  their  worldly 
property  in  performing  offices  of  kindness  to  one  another 
as  men. 

§  2.  Christians  are  to  manifest  brotherly  love,  by  employing 
their  spiritual  gifts  for  promoting  one  another  s  spiritual 
edification. 

The  second  way  in  which  they  are  to  manifest  their 
brotherly  love,  is  to  employ  their  spiritual  gifts  for  pro- 
moting one  another's  spiritual  interests  as  Christians  :  "  As 
every  man  hath  received  the  gift,  even  so  let  them  minister 
the  same  one  to  another,  as  good  stewards  of  the  manifold 
grace  of  God.  If  any  man  speak,  let  him  speak  as  the 
oracles  of  God ;  if  any  man  minister,  let  him  do  it  as  of 
the  ability  which  God  giveth." 

The  word  "  gift"^  here,  and  generally  in  the  apostolic 
epistles,  signifies  any  endowment,  it  may  be  natural,  or  it 

^  2  Cor.  ix.  7.  ^  'S.a.fitirf/.a,. 


120  BROTHERLY  LOVE  [DISC.  XIX. 

may  be  miraculous,  influenced  and  guided  by  the  Holy 
Spirit.  "  The  grace  of  God"^  is  the  same  as  "  the  gift," 
only  it  is  descriptive  of  the  aggregate  of  the  gifts  ;  and  the 
endowment  and  the  influence  are  viewed  in  the  last  case  as 
given  by  God,  in  the  first  as  enjoyed  by  man.  This  grace 
is  termed  "  manifold,"  ^  to  mark  the  varied  forms  which 
the  divine  gifts,  all  of  them  expressive  of  grace,  kindness, 
take  in  different  individuals.  Speaking  of  the  supernatural 
spiritual  gifts,  the  apostle  says  what  is  true  of  all  spiritual 
gifts :  "  There  are  diversities  of  gifts,  but  the  same  Spirit ; 
and  there  are  differences  of  administration,  but  the  same 
Lord  ;  and  there  are  diversities  of  operations,  but  it  is  the 
same  God  that  worketh  all  in  all ;  and  the  ministration  of 
the  Spirit  is  given  to  every  man  to  profit  withal."^ 

The  church  is  viewed  as  a  household,  to  the  various 
members  of  which  the  Divine  Master  of  the  family  has 
given  various  qualifications,  by  the  exercise  of  which  they 
are  mutually  to  promote  one  another's  improvement  and 
happiness ;  and  thus  the  improvement  and  happiness  of  the 
whole  family  is  to  be  secured.  These  gifts,  then,  are  not 
to  be  considered  as  conferred  only  or  chiefly  for  the  advan- 
tage of  the  individual  on  whom  they  are  bestowed.  They 
are  intended  for  the  good  of  the  whole ;  and  the  gifted 
person  is,  in  the  exercise  of  his  gift,  not  to  act  as  an  inde- 
pendent proprietor,  seeking  his  own  advantage,  and  doing 
what  he  wills  with  his  own,  but  as  a  good  steward,  turning 
to  the  best  account,  according  to  the  declared  will  of  the 
Great  Householder,  a  portion  of  His  property,  which  the 
individual  entrusted  with  it  is  expected  to  use  not  only  for 
his  own  good,  but  for  the  good  of  all  his  brethren. 

The  meaning  of  the  passage  in  our  version  is,  I  appre- 
hend, somewhat  obscured  by  an  attempt  to  illustrate  it. 
You  will  observe  that  the  words,  "  Let  him  speak,"  and 

1  Xao;T«;  Qiov.  ^  UoiKiXn;.  ^  1  Cor.  xii.  4-6. 


PART  II.]  TO  BE  MANIFESTED.  121 

"  let  liim  do  it,"  are  in  the  italic  character,  indicating,  as 
you  are  aware,  that  there  are  no  corresponding  words  in 
the  original,  but  that  they  are,  in  the  estimation  of  the 
translators,  necessary  to  bring  out  the  sense  in  English  ; 
and  if  the  tenth  and  eleventh  verses  are  two  distinct  sen- 
tences, as  they  obviously  supposed,  some  such  supplement 
is  necessary  to  bring  any  sense  out  of  the  first  part  of  the 
latter  of  the  verses ;  though  to  bring  distinctly  out  the 
meaning  our  translators  supposed  to  be  in  them,  would 
have  required  a  still  larger  supplement  than  that  they  have 
inserted.  '  If  any  man  speak  the  oracles  of  God,  let  him 
speak  them  as  the  oracles  of  God.  If  any  man  act  the  part 
of  a  minister  or  deacon,  let  him  act  the  part  of  a  minister, 
as  of  the  ability  which  God  giveth.'  These  are  good  advices ; 
and  it  was  only  by  attending  to  them  that  the  gifted 
speakers  or  ministers  could  exercise  the  gift  bestowed  on 
them  to  the  advantage  of  their  brethren,  and  be  good 
stewards  of  that  portion  of  the  manifold  grace  of  God  com- 
mitted to  their  care. 

I  apprehend,  however,  that  the  two  verses  are  not  two 
sentences,  but  one,  and  that  no  supplement  is  necessary  to 
bring  out  the  full  sense  of  the  apostle.  The  words  in  the 
beginning  of  the  eleventh  verse  are  just  an  illustration,  by 
examples,  of  the  statement  in  the  beginning  of  the  tenth 
verse.  "  Speaking  as  the  oracles  of  God,"  "  ministering 
as  of  the  ability  which  God  has  given,"  are  just  two  of 
"  the  gifts"  bestowed  on  individuals  for  the  use  of  the 
church — two  varieties  of  the  "  manifold  grace  of  God," 
which  the  recipients  were  to  employ  "  as  good  stewards." 
The  words  may  be  literally  rendered,  "  According  as  e\ery 
man  has  received  the  gift,  let  them  minister  the  same  to 
each  other,  as  good  stewards  of  the  manifold  grace  of  God : 
whosoever  speaks,  as  the  oracles  of  God ;  whosoever  ministers, 
as  of  the  ability  which  God  hath  given  him."     One  man 


122  BROTHERLY  LOVE  [DISC.  XIX. 

has  received  the  gift  of  speaking  as  the  oracles  of  God,  the 
faculty  of  being  useful  in  teaching  and  exhorting ;  he  is  an 
inspired  teacher.  Another  has  received  the  gift  of  ministry, 
the  faculty  of  being  useful  in  the  management  of  the  affairs 
of  the  spiritual  society,  in  preserving  order,  collecting  and 
managing  its  funds  for  supporting  and  extending  the  ordi- 
nances of  Christianity,  and  for  relieving  the  sick,  the 
infirm,  and  the  poor.  Whatever  faculty  any  Christian 
possesses  of  this  kind,  or  of  any  other  kind,  is  a  gift  received 
from  Christ,  for  the  purpose  of  edifying  his  body  the  church, 
is  a  portion  of  his  "  manifold  grace"  entrusted  to  the  indi- 
vidual, to  be  managed  faithfully  and  wisely  for  the  purpose 
for  which  it  is  bestowed. 

The  passage  before  us  receives  illustration  from  some 
other  passages  in  the  apostolic  epistles,  which,  though  not  in 
every  respect  parallel,  obviously  relate  to  the  same  subject. 
The  first  of  these  passages  is  to  be  found  in  the  Epistle  of 
the  Apostle  Paul  to  the  Romans  :  "  I  say,  through  the 
grace  given  unto  me,  to  every  man  that  is  among  you,  not 
to  think  of  himself  more  highly  than  he  ought  to  think  ; 
but  to  think  soberly,  according  as  God  hath  dealt  to  every 
man  the  measure  of  faith.  For  as  we  have  many  members 
in  one  body,  and  all  members  have  not  the  same  ofiice,  so 
we,  being  many,  are  one  body  in  Christ,  and  every  one 
members  one  of  another.  Having,  indeed,  gifts  differing 
according  to  the  grace  given  unto  us ;"  as  in  the  passage 
before  us,  "  having  gifts  according  to  the  manifold  grace 
of  God ;"  and  the  gifts  spoken  of  in  this  passage  seem  to  be 
precisely  the  same  as  those  specified  in  our  text,  "  whether 
prophecy  or  ministry."^  The  gift  of  prophecy  seems  to  be 
the  same  thing  as  the  gift  enabling  a  man  to  "  speak  as  the 
oracles  of  God,"  the  gift  which  fitted  for  teaching.  The 
gift  of  "  ministry,"  mentioned  in  both  cases,  is  the  gift,  the 
1  Rom.  xii.  3-8. 


PART  II.]  TO  BE  MANIFESTED.  123 

qualification,  or  class  of  qualifications,  which  fit  for  admini- 
stration ;  the  first  gift  being  to  be  exercised  in  "  teaching 
and  exhortation ;"  the  second,  in  "  giving,  in  ruling  or  pre- 
siding, and  in  showing  mercy." 

The  second  passage  I  refer  to  as  fitted  to  throw  light  on 
our  text,  is  in  the  First  Epistle  of  the  same  apostle  to  the 
Corinthians.  "  Now  concerning  spiritual  gifts,  brethren, 
I  would  not  hav^e  you  ignorant.  There  are  diversities  of 
gifts,  but  the  same  Spirit.  And  there  are  differences  of 
administration,  but  the  same  Lord.  And  there  are  diversi- 
ties of  operations,  but  it  is  the  same  God  who  worketh  all 
in  all.  But  the  manifestation  of  the  Spirit  is  given  to  every 
man  to  profit  withal,"  that  is,  to  employ  for  the  benefit  of 
his  brethren,  to  use  as  a  steward  of  the  manifold  grace  of 
God.  "  For  to  one  is  given,  by  the  Spirit  the  word  of 
wisdom  ;  to  another  the  word  of  knowledge  by  the  same 
Spirit ;  to  another  faith  by  the  same  Spirit ;  to  another  the 
gifts  of  healing  by  the  same  Spirit ;  to  another  the  working 
of  miracles ;  to  another  prophecy ;  to  another  discerning  of 
spirits  ;  to  another  divers  kinds  of  tongues  ;  to  another  the 
interpretation  of  tongues  :  But  all  these  worketh  the  self- 
same Spirit,  dividing  to  every  man  severally  as  he  will."  ^ 
The  same  general  division  of  gifts  fitting  for  teaching,  and 
gifts  fitting  for  administration,  may  be  noticed  here.  To 
the  first  class  belong  "  the  word  of  wisdom,  the  word  of 
knowledge,  prophecy,  divers  kinds  of  tongues,  and  the  inter- 
pretation of  tongues  ;"  to  the  second,  the  gifts  of  "  healing 
and  the  discerning  of  spirits ;"  while  the  gifts  of  working 
miracles,  and  faith,  which  seems  to  mean  supernatural  con- 
fidence and  boldness,  were  gifts  which  might  be  usefully 
employed  both  in  teaching  and  in  administration. 

That  the  design  of  those  various  gifts  was  the  miitual 
edification  of  Christians  and  the  general  advantage  of  the 

1  1  Cor.  xii.  1-11. 


124  BROTHERLY  LOVE  [DISC,  XIX. 

Church,  is  distinctly  stated  in  what  follows  :  "  For  as  the 
body  is  one,  and  hath  many  members,  and  all  the  members 
of  that  body,  being  many,  are  one  body ;  so  also  is  Christ. 
For  by  one  Spirit  are  we  all  baptized  into  one  body,  and 
have  been  all  made  to  drink  into  one  Spirit.  For  the  body 
is  not  one  member,  but  many.  If  the  foot  shall  say.  Be- 
cause I  am  not  the  hand,  I  am  not  of  the  body ;  is  it  there- 
fore not  of  the  body  ?  And  if  the  ear  shall  say.  Because  1 
am  not  the  eye,  I  am  not  of  the  body ;  is  it  therefore  not 
of  the  body  ?  If  the  whole  body  were  an  eye,  where  were 
the  hearing?  if  the  whole  were  hearing,  where  were  the 
smelling  ?  But  now  hath  God  set  the  members  every  one 
of  them  in  the  body  as  it  hath  pleased  him.  And  if  they 
were  all  one  member,  where  were  the  body  ?  And  the  eye 
cannot  say  to  the  hand,  I  have  no  need  of  thee ;  nor  again 
the  head  to  the  feet,  I  have  no  need  of  you.  God  hath 
tempered  the  body  together,  that  there  should  be  no  schism 
in  the  body ;  but  that  the  members  should  have  the  same 
care  one  for  another.  And  whether  one  member  suffer,  all 
the  members  suffer  with  it ;  or  one  member  be  honoured, 
all  the  members  rejoice  with  it.  Now  ye  are  the  body  of 
Christ,  and  members  in  particular;"  that  is,  every  one 
individually  a  member  of  that  body.^ 

The  third  passage  peculiarly  fitted  to  illustrate  the  text, 
is  in  the  Epistle  to  the  Ephesians.  The  apostle  having 
exhorted  the  believers  to  endeavour  to  "  keep  the  unity  of 
the  Spirit  in  the  bond  of  peace," — that  is,  just  to  "  have 
fervent  charity"  among  themselves,  so  that  "  the  multitude 
of  sins  "  might  be  covered, — goes  on  to  state  the  manner  in 
which  they,  being  one  body,  were  connected  by  having 
severally  diverse  gifts  fitted  and  intended  for  the  advantage 
of  the  body.  "  There  is  one  body,  and  one  Spirit,  even  as 
ye  are  called  in  one  hope  of  your  calling ;  one  Lord,  one 
1  1  Cor.  xii.  12-27. 


PART  II.]  TO  BE  MANIFESTED.  125 

faith,  one  baptism,  one  God  and  Father  of  all,  who  is  above 
all,  and  through  all,  and  in  you  all.  But  unto  every  one 
is  given  grace  according  to  the  measure  of  the  gift  of  Christ. 
And  he  gave  some,  apostles ;  and  some,  prophets ;  and 
some,  evangelists ;  and  some,  pastors  and  teachers ;  for 
the  perfecting  of  the  saints,  for  the  work  of  the  ministry, 
for  the  edifying  of  the  body  of  Christ :  till  we  all  come  in 
the  unity  of  the  faith,  and  of  the  knowledge  of  the  Son  of 
God,  unto  a  perfect  man,  unto  the  measure  of  the  stature 
of  the  fulness  of  Christ :  that  we  henceforth  be  no  more 
children,  tossed  to  and  fro,  and  carried  about  by  every  wind 
of  doctrine,  by  the  sleight  of  men  and  cunning  craftiness, 
whereby  they  lie  in  wait  to  deceive ;  but,  speaking  the  truth 
in  love,  may  grow  up  into  him  in  all  things,  which  is  the 
head,  even  Christ :  from  whom  the  whole  body  fitly  joined 
together  and  compacted  by  that  which  every  joint  supplieth, 
according  to  the  effectual  working  in  the  measure  of  every 
part,  maketh  increase  of  the  body,  unto  the  edifying  of 
itself  in  love."^ 

Viewed  in  the  light  of  these  passages,  there  is  no  diffi- 
culty in  perceiving  what  are  the  great  principles  which  our 
text  involves.  They  are  these  :  that  God  by  Jesus  Christ, 
through  the  Holy  Spirit,  communicates  to  his  Church,  in 
manifestation  of  his  sovereign,  undeserved,  distinguishing 
favour,  those  gifts  that  are  necessary  to  its  prosperity  as  a 
society,  and  to  the  improvement  and  happiness  of  its  indi- 
vidual members ;  that  this  is  not  done  by  giving  to  every 
member  the  same  gifts,  far  less  an  equal  measure  of  the 
same  gifts  ;  that  the  gifts  are  manifold  or  various,  suited 
to  serve  different  purposes,  and  communicated,  too,  in 
diversified  measure  to  different  individuals  ;  that  these  gifts 
are  all  communicated  for  the  purpose  of  being  exercised  ; 
that  the  design  of  these  exercises  is  not  only,  or  so  much, 
1  Eph.  iv.  3-16. 


126  BROTHERLY  LOVE  [DISC.  XIX. 

the  advantage  of  the  gifted  individual  as  that  of  the  body 
at  large  ;  and  finally,  that  in  the  exercise  of  his  gift  every 
person  ought  to  consider  himself  as  a  steward  who  must  be 
faithful,  managing  the  property  of  another  for  the  specific 
purposes  for  which  he  has  been  entrusted  -with  it. 

He  who  neglects  the  gift  that  is  in  him  is  an  unprofitable 
servant.  He  who  converts  it  into  a  means  of  gaining  selfish 
objects,  the  gratification  of  his  own  private  tastes,  or  the 
purposes  of  interest  or  ambition,  instead  of  devoting  it  to 
the  edification  of  his  brethren,  is  an  unfaithful  servant. 
He  who,  instead  of  cultivating  and  exercising  his  own  gift, 
attempts  to  exercise  a  gift  he  has  not  received,  and  in  this 
way  to  occupy  a  field  which  he  is  not  fitted,  and  others  are 
fitted,  to  occupy,  is  an  unwise  servant. 

These  observations  are  applicable  to  spiritual  gifts,  ac- 
cording to  the  definition  already  given  of  them,  whether 
supernatural  or  not,  and  whether  connected  with  official 
station  in  the  Church  or  not.  The  reference  in  the  text, 
as  well  as  in  the  parallel  passages,  seems  to  be  to  gifts, 
probably  supernatural,  connected  with  the  two  offices  of 
teaching  and  ministry,  of  which  all  the  offices  in  the  primi- 
tive Church  seem  to  be  represented  as  varieties ;  and  the 
command  is,  of  course,  to  be  viewed  as  addressed  primarily 
to  those  Christians  who  occupy  official  situations  in  the 
Church. 

The  man  who,  in  consequence  of  a  gift  conferred  oh  him, 
and  a  call  addressed  to  him,  "  speaks  as  the  oracles  of  God," 
officially  teaches  the  doctrines  and  laws-  of  Christ  Jesus, 
that  man  is  to  exercise  his  gift  and  perform  the  duties  of 
his  office,  not  in  the  way  most  fitted  to  gratify  his  own  par- 
ticular taste,  or  promote  his  own  reputation  for  learning, 
ingenuity,  and  eloquence,  but  in  the  way  most  fitted  for 
promoting  the  increase  of  the  Church  in  knowledge  and 
faith,  and  holiness  and  comfort ;  and  if  he  has  a  peculiar 


PART  II.]  TO  BE  MANIFESTED.      '  127 

gift,  lie  is  bound  especially  to  cultivate  and  exercise  that 
gift,  whether  it  be  for  exposition  or  exhortation,  for  the 
establishment  of  truth  or  the  exposure  of  error,  for  warning 
the  unruly  or  comforting  the  afflicted.  On  the  other  hand, 
he  who,  in  consequence  of  a  gift  conferred  on  him  and  a 
call  addressed  to  him,  "  ministers  of  the  ability  that  God 
has  given,"  in  presiding,  superintending,  administering  the 
laws  of  Christ's  Church,  managing  the  charities  of  the 
Church,  performing  all  the  offices  indicated  by  the  terms 
ruling,  giving,  showing  mercy,  ought  to  exercise  his  gift 
and  perform  the  duties  of  his  office,  not  to  secure  personal 
influence,  to  gratify  personal  vanity,  or  to  promote  personal 
interest,  but  to  advance  the  great  interests  of  the  Church 
as  a  spiritual  body,  and  of  the  individuals  constituting  its 
members. 

But  the  principle  in  the  text  reaches  beyond  the  limits  of 
official  station  ;  it  is  applicable  to  every  individual  member 
of  the  Church.  Every  member  has  a  gift ;  and  that  gift, 
whatever  it  be,  is  to  be  exercised  hot  only  for  his  own  ad- 
vantage, but  for  that  of  his  brethren,  as  God  gives  him 
opportunity.  Every  Christian  is  to  look  not  only  at  his 
own  things,  but  at  the  things  of  others.  Christians  are  to 
work  out  each  other's  salvation,  as  well  as  each  man  his 
own.  Indeed,  there  is  reason  to  think  that  that  is  the 
reference  of  the  passage  in  the  Epistle  to  the  Philippians 
now  alluded  to.  Brother  is  to  teach  brother.  They  are 
to  "  exhort  one  another  daily  ;"  they  are  to  "  bear  one  an- 
other's burdens;"  they  are  to  "look  diligently,  lest  any  man 
fail  of  the  grace  of  God."  In  the  use  of  the  gifts  of  the 
private  members  of  a  church,  wisdom  is  necessary  as  well 
as  profitable  to  direct ;  but  without  at  all  interfering  with 
the  peculiar  duties  or  intruding  into  the  peculiar  province 
of  official  teaching  and  rule,  there  is  abundant  room  for  the 
exercise  of  the  gift  of  each  to  the  common  benefit  of  all ; 


128  BROTHERLY  LOVE  [DISC.  XIX. 

and  there  is,  questionless,  sometliing  wanting,  something 
wrong,  in  all  ecclesiastical  constitutions  which  do  not,  by 
the  regular  employment  of  the  gifts  of  individuals,  provide 
for  the  common  good  of  all  the  members  of  the  body  of 
Christ.  "  I  desire  none,"  says  the  devout  prelate  so  often 
referred  to,  "  to  leap  over  the  bounds  of  their  calling,  or 
rules  of  Christian  prudence,  in  their  converse ;  yea,  this 
were  much  to  be  blamed ;  but  I  fear  lest  unwary  hands, 
throwing  on  water  to  quench  that  evil,  have  let  some  of  it 
fall  by,  upon  those  sparks  that  should  rather  have  been 
stirred  and  blown  up." 

§  3.  Motives  to  these  two  manifestations  of  Christian  love. 

Enough  has  been  said  in  illustration  of  the  duty  of  the 
manifestation  of  Christian  love,  in  the  two  forms  prescribed 
in  the  passage  before  us.  Let  us  say  a  word  or  two  on  the 
MOTIVES  by  which  the  duty  is  enforced. 

There  is  a  motive,  and  a  powerful  one,  implied  in  the 
words,  "  as  good  stewards  of  the  manifold  grace  of  God." 
Neither  the  temporal  goods  nor  the  spiritual  gifts  of  Chris- 
tians are  their  own  property.  Both  have  been  given  them, 
and  given  not  to  serve  selfish  but  public  ends.  They  were 
talents  to  be  traded  with,  not  so  much  to  enrich  the  indi- 
vidual as  to  enlarge  and  improve  the  Master's  property.  If 
they  neglect  to  use  them  for  this  purpose,  they  are  unprofit- 
able servants,  they  waste  their  Lord's  money.  An  active, 
wise,  faithful  use  of  these  gifts,  is  necessary  to  their  being 
good  stewards.  Christians  holding  office  in  the  Church, 
and  indeed  all  Christians,  should  often  remember  that 
they  must  give  an  account  of  their  stewardship,  for  they 
must  not  always  be  stewards  ;  and  if  they  do  not  attend  to 
the  command  in  the  text,  the  account  cannot  be  given  in 
with  joy,  but  with  grief,  which  will  be  unprofitable  to  them; 
whereas,   if   they   do   apply   their   gift,   however  limited, 


PART  II]  TO  BE  MANIFESTED.  129 

honestly  to  its  appropriate  purpose,  their  labour  shall  not 
be  in  vain  iu  the  Lord.  The  cordial  welcome  and  its  joyful 
results  shall  be  theirs  :  "  Well  done,  good  and  faithful 
servant,  enter  thou  into  the  joy  of  thy  Lord."  "  Thinkest 
thou,"  says  Archbishop  Leighton,  "  that  thy  wealth,  or 
power,  or  wit,  is  thine,  to  do  with  as  thou  wilt,  to  engross 
to  thyself  either  to  retain  as  useless  or  to  use,  to  hoard  and 
wrap  up,  or  to  lavish  out ;  according  as  thy  humour  leads 
thee  ?  No  !  All  is  given  as  to  a  steward,  wisely  and  faith- 
fully to  lay  up  and  lay  out,  not  only  the  outward  estate 
and  common  gifts  of  mind,  but  even  saving  grace,  which 
seems  most  appropriated  for  thy  private  good,  yet  is  not 
wholly  for  that.  Even  thy  graces  are  for  the  good  of  thy 
brethren." 

The  great  motive,  however,  urged  by  the  apostle  for 
manifesting  Christian  love  is,  "  that  in  all  things  God 
may  be  glorified  through  Christ  Jesus."  In  the  Christian 
economy  "  all  things  are  of  God,"  and  all  things  are  "  by 
Christ  Jesus."  The  Christian  Church  is  the  new  creation  ; 
the  work  of  the  word  and  Spirit  of  God,  as  was  the  first 
creation.  Every  true  member  of  it  is  "created  anew  in 
Christ  Jesus;"  and  of  it,  still  more  emphatically  than  of 
the  holy  nation,  which  was  its  type,  may  it  be  said,  "  This 
people  hath  He  formed  for  himself."  They  ought,  then,  to 
show  forth  his  praise.  When  Christians  manifest  their  love 
to  one  another  in  the  way  enjoined  in  the  text,  both  the 
individual  improvement  of  the  members  and  the  general 
spiritual  prosperity  of  the  Church  as  a  body,  are  promoted. 
Holiness  and  happiness  are  diffused.  The  wisdom,  the 
power,  the  holiness,  and  the  benignity  of  God,  in  the 
glorious  economy  of  grace,  of  which  the  spiritual  society, 
"  the  Church,"  is  an  important  element,  are  illustriously 
displayed.  His  authority  is  visibly  acknowledged,  his  object 
is  visibly  gained,  when  Christians  live  altogether  in  holy 

VOL.  III.  I 


130  CONCLUSION.  [DISC.  XIX. 

love.  On  the  other  hand,  when  Christian  love  is  not  main- 
tained and  manifested,  God  is  dishonoured.  A  false'  view 
is  given  of  his  character ;  and  his  holy  name  is  blasphemed 
among  the  unbelievers,  through  the  unworthy  conduct  of 
those  calling  themselves  his  people.  The  taunt  is  a  bitter 
one,  when  Christians  act  a  part  unworthy  their  character, 
'  See  how  these  Christians  bite  and  devour  one  another  ! 
These  are  the  lights  of  the  world  !  These  are  the  salt  of 
the  earth  !  This  is  Christianity,  and  these  are  Christians  ! ' 
A  regard  to  the  glory  of  God,  especially  as  manifested 
through  the  mediation  of  Christ,  is  the  master  principle 
of  every  true  Christian  ;  and  it  is  his  prevailing  desire 
that  "  whether  he  eat,  or  drink,  he  may  do  all  to  the 
glory  of  God."  No  motive,  then,  can  be  conceived  better 
adapted  than  this  to  induce  Christians  carefully  to  culti- 
vate, habitually  to  manifest,  brotherly  love  :  without  this 
God  cannot  be  glorified,  nay,  he  must  be  dishonoured  by 
them ;  and  just  in  the  degree  in  which  they  attend  to 
these  duties,  do  they  answer  the  design  of  their  high  and 
holy  vocation — the  "  showing  forth  the  praises  of  him  who 
hath  called  them  from  darkness  to  light;"  the  being  "  to 
the  praise  of  the  glory  of  him  who  hath  made  them  accepted 
in  the  beloved,"  whose  they  are,  whom  they  are  bound  to 
serve;  "of  whom,  and  through  whom,  and  to  whom  are  all 
things." 

The  apostle  concludes  his  exhortation  and  enforcement 
of  the  maintenance  and  manifestation  of  brotherly  love,  by 
a  solemn  doxology  :  "  To  whom  be  praise  and  dominion  for 
ever  and  ever."  If  we  look  merely  at  the  words,  it  may  be 
doubted  whether  this  ascription  of  divine  honours  has  a 
reference  to  God  the  Father,  or  to  Jesas  Christ.  There 
can  be  no  doubt,  that  there  are  similar  ascriptions  of  divine 
honours  to  our  Loixl  Jesus  in  other  parts  of  the  New  Testa- 


DISC.  XIX.]  CONCLUSION.  "  131 

nient ;  and  that,  as  He  and  the  Father  are  one,  it  is  most 
meet  "  that  all  should  honour  the  Son  as  they  honour  the 
Father."  At  the  same  time,  though  Jesus  Christ  be  the 
nearest  antecedent,  God  the  Father  is  the  subject  of  the 
preceding  statement ;  and  an  ascription  of  divine  praise  and 
dominion  to  Him  seems  most  naturally  to  rise  out  of  that 
statement.  It  is  as  if  the  apostle  had  said  :  Seek,  by  the 
maintenance  and  manifestation  of  brotherly  love,  to  glorify 
God  ;  for  he  is  worthy  of  all  glory.  Praise  and  dominion 
are  his  proper  due. 

"  It  is,"  says  Leighton,  "  most  reasonable,  his  due  as  God 
the  author  of  all,  not  only  of  all  supervenient  good,  but 
even  of  being  itself ;  seeing  that  all  is  from  him,  that  all 
be  for  him.  '  For  of  him,  and  through  him,  and  to  him, 
are  all  things  :  to  whom  be  glory  for  ever.'  As  it  is  most 
just,  so  it  is  most  sweet,  to  aim  at  this,  that  God  be  glorified. 
It  is  the  alone  worthy  design  tliat  fills  the  heart  with  heaven- 
liness,  and  with  a  heavenly  calmness  ;  and  sets  it  above  the 
clouds  and  storms  of  those  passions  that  disquiet  low,  self- 
seeking  minds.  He  is  a  miserable  unsettled  wretch  who 
cleaves  to  himself  and  forgets  God  ;  is  perplexed  about  his 
credit,  and  gain,  and  base  ends,  which  are  often  broke;  and 
when  he  attains  them,  yet  they  and  he  shortly  perish  to- 
gether. When  his  estate,  or  designs,  or  any  comforts  fail, 
how  can  he  look  to  him  whom  he  looked  so  little  at  before? 
May  not  the  Lord  say,  '  Go  to  the  gods  whom  thou  hast 
served,  and  let  them  deliver  and  comfort  thee  ? '  Seek 
comfort  from  thyself,  as  thou  didst  all  for  thyself.  But  he 
that  hath  resigned  himself,  and  is  all  for  God,  may  con- 
fidently say,  '  The  Lord  is  my  portion.'  Tins  is  the  Chris- 
tian's aim,  to  have  nothing  in  himself,  nor  in  anything  but 
in  this  tenure  :  all  for  the  glory  of  my  God, — my  estate, 
family,  abilities,  my  whole  self,  all  I  have  and  am.  And 
as  the  love  of  God  grows  in  the  heart,  this  purpose  grows  ; 


132  CONCLUSION.  [DISC.  XIX. 

the  higher  the  flame  rises,  the  purer  it  is  :  the  eye  is  daily 
more  upon  it ;  it  is  oftener  in  the  mind  in  all  actions  than 
before.  In  common  things,  the  very  works  of  our  callings, 
our  very  refreshments,  to  eat,  and  drink,  and  sleep,  are  all 
for  this  end,  and  with  a  particular  aim  at  it  as  much  as  may 
be.  Even  the  thought  of  it  is  often  renewed  throughout 
the  day,  and  at  times  generally  applied  to  all  our  ways  and 
employments.  It  is  that  elixir  which  turns  all  into  gold, 
the  ordinary  works  into  sacrifices, '  with  which  God  is  well 
pleased.' " 

The  introduction  of  this  doxology  in  the  midst  of  his 
exhortation  is  a  beautiful  exemplification  of  the  apostle's 
piety.  We  have  not  a  few  instances  of  the  same  kind  in 
the  epistolary  writings  of  his  "  beloved  brother  Paul."  It 
were  a  pleasing  proof  that  we  had  "  obtained  like  precious 
faith "  with  the  apostles,  and  been  baptized  into  the  Spirit 
whicli  was  shed  forth  on  them  so  abundantly,  were  there 
in  our  hearts  a  fountain  of  affectionate  esteem,  grateful 
admiration,  adoring  awe  of  the  divine  holiness,  benignity, 
and  majesty,  always  ready  to  gush  forth  in  a  stream  of 
praise  ;  "  a  well  of  living  water,  springing  up  to  eternal  life." 
It  were  indeed,  as  the  devout  Archbishop  says,  "  a  high  and 
blessed  condition  to  be  in  all  estates  in  some  willing  readi- 
ness to  bear  a  part  in  this  song,  to  acknowledge  the  great- 
ness and  goodness  of  our  God,  and  to  wish  him  glory  in  all. 
What  are  the  angels  doing  1  This  is  their  business,  without 
interruption,  without  weariness,  without  end.  And  seeing 
we  hope  to  partake  with  them,  we  should  even  now,  though 
in  a  lower  key,  and  not  so  tunably  neither,  yet  as  we  may, 
begin  it ;  and  upon  all  occasions  our  hearts  should  often  be 
following  in  this  sweet  note  or  offering  at  it,  'To  him  be 
glory  and  dominion  for  ever.' " 


DISC.  XIX.l  NOTE.  133 


Note  A.  p.  116. 

"  The  care  of  providing  for  the  support  and  maintenance  of 
strangers,  of  the  poor,  the  sick,  the  old,  of  widows  and  orphans, 
and  of  those  in  prison  on  account  of  their  faith,  devolved  on  the 
whole  Church.  This  was  one  of  the  main  purposes  for  which  the 
collection  of  voluntary  contributions,  in  the  assemblies  convened 
for  public  worship,  was  instituted  ;  and  the  charity  of  individuals, 
moreover,  led  them  to  emulate  each  other  in  the  same  good  work. 
In  particular,  it  was  considered  as  belonging  to  the  office  of  the 
Christian  matron  to  provide  for  the  poor,  for  the  brethren  lan- 
guishing in  prison,  and  to  show  hospitality  to  strangers.  The 
hindrance  occasioned  to  this  kind  of  Christian  activity,  is  reckoned 
by  TertuUian  among  the  disadvantages  of  a  mixed  marriage. 
'  What  heathen,'  says  he,  '  will  suffer  his  wife  to  go  about  from 
one  street  to  another,  to  the  houses  of  strangers,  to  the  meanest 
hovels  indeed,  for  the  purpose  of  visiting  the  brethren  ?  What 
heathen  will  allow  her  to  steal  away  into  the  dungeon  to  kiss  the 
chain  of  the  martyr  ?  If  a  brother  arrive  from  abroad,  what 
reception  will  he  meet  in  the  house  of  the  stranger  ?  If  an  alms 
is  to  be  bestowed,  storehouse  and  cellar  are  shut  fast.'  On  the 
other  hand,  he  counts  it  among  the  felicities  of  a  marriage  con- 
tracted betAveen  Christians,  that  the  wife  is  at  liberty  to  visit  the 
sick  and  relieve  the  needy,  and  is  never  straitened  or  perplexed 
in  the  bestowment  of  her  charities.  Nor  did  the  active  brotherly 
love  of  each  community  confine  itself  to  what  transpired  in  its 
own  immediate  circle,  but  extended  itself  also  to  the  wants  of 
the  Christian  communities  in  distant  lands.  On  urgent  occasions 
of  this  kind,  the  bishops  made  arrangements  for  special  collections. 
They  appointed  fasts ;  so  that  what  was  saved,  even  by  the 
poorest  of  the  flock,  from  their  daily  food,  might  help  to  supply 
the  common  wants." — Tertull.  ad  uxorem,  ii.  1,  8  ;  de  jejunio, 
c.  xii. — Neander,  Gen.  Hist.  vol.  i.  pp.  347-8. 


DISCOURSE  XX. 

DIRECTORY  TO  CHRISTIANS  SUFFERING  FOR  THEIR 
RELIGION. 

"  Beloved,  think  it  not  strange  concerning  the  fiery  trial  which  is  to  try 
you,  as  though  some  strange  thing  happened  unto  you :  but  rejoice,  inas- 
much as  ye  ai-e  partakers  of  Christ's  sufferings;  that,  when  his  glory  shall 
be  revealed,  ye  may  be  glad  also  with  exceeding  joy.  If  ye  be  reproached 
for  the  name  of  Christ,  happy  are  ye ;  for  the  Spirit  of  glory  and  of  God 
resteth  upon  you :  on  their  part  he  is  evil  spoken  of,  but  on  your  part  he  is 
glorified.  But  let  none  of  you  suffer  as  a  murderer,  or  as  a  thief,  or  as  an  evil- 
doer, or  as  a  busybody  in  other  men's  matters.  Yet  if  any  man  suffer  as  a 
Christian,  let  him  not  be  ashamed ;  but  let  him  glorify  God  on  this  behalf. 
For  the  time  is  come  that  judgment  must  begin  at  the  house  of  God  :  and  if  it 
first  begin  at  us,  what  shall  the  end  be  of  them  that  obey  not  the  gospel  of 
God  ?  And  if  the  righteous  scarcely  be  saved,  where  shall  the  ungodly  and  the 
sinner  appear  ?  Wherefore,  let  them  that  suffer  according  to  the  will  of  God, 
commit  the  keeping  of  their  souls  to  him  in  well-doing,  as  unto  a  faithful 
Creator."— 1  Pet.  iv.  12-19. 


From  many  passages  in  this  epistle,  it  is  obvious  that  they 
to  whom  it  was  addressed  were  in  adverse  circumstances. 
They  had  ah'eady  been  exposed  to  suffering  in  a  variety  of 
forms,  in  consequence  of  their  profession  of  the  faith  of 
Christ.  "  They  were  in  heaviness,  through  manifold  tempta- 
tions;" and  it  is  more  than  once  not  obscurely  intimated, 
that  the  trials  in  which  they  had  been  involved  were  but 
the  forerunners  of  more  severe  persecutions,  to  which  ere 
long  they  might  expect  to  be  subjected.  It  was  with  them 
a  dark  and  cloudy  day,  and  their  sky  did  not  appear  to  be 
clearing.  The  evils  they  had  experienced  seemed  to  be  but 
the  prelusive  drops  of  an  approaching  tempest.     The  para- 


PART  I.]  DIRECTOEY  UNDER  SUFFERINGS.  135 

graph  which  is  to  form  the  subject  of  our  discourse  at  this 
time,  contains  an  inspired  directory  for  those  persecuted 
Christians,  amid  the  increasing  difficuUies  of  their  situation. 
The  injunctions  contained  in  this  inspired  directory  seem 
all  reducible  to  the  four  following  :  '  Be  not  astonished  at 
your  svifferings  ;'  'Be  not  def)ressed  by  your  sufferings;' 
'Be  not  ashamed  of  your  sufferings  ;'  and,  'Persevering  in 
well-doing,  commit  the  keeping  of  your  souls  to  God  under 
your  sufferings.'  Let  us  shortly  attend  to  these  four  in- 
junctions in  their  order,  as  explained  and  enforced  by  the 
apostle. 

1.    BE  NOT  ASTONISHED  AT  YOUR  SUFFERINGS. 

The  first  direction  given  by  the  apostle  to  his  suffering 
brethren  is,  '  Be  not  astonished  at  your  sufferings.'  "  Be- 
loved, think  it  not  strange  concerning  the  fiery  trial  which 
is  to  try  you,  as  though  some  strange  thing  had  happened 
to  you." 

The  course  of  suffering  on  which  these  Christians  had 
entered,  is  figuratively  described  as  a  fire  or  burning,  in- 
tended to  try  them.  The  allusion  is  to  the  intense  heat  of 
the  furnace  of  the  refiner,  in  which  he  tests  the  genuine- 
ness and  increases  the  purity  of  the  precious  metals.  The 
figurative  representation  is  obviously  designed  to  indicate 
at  once  the  great  severity  and  the  important  purposes  of 
the  afflictions  on  which  these  Christians  might  reckon  with 
certainty  as  awaiting  them. 

These  afflictions  were  to  be  severe.  They  are  compared, 
not  to  the  heat  of  the  sun,  or  of  an  ordinary  fire,  but  to  the 
concentrated  heat  of  the  refiner's  furnace  ;  and  we  know, 
from  authentic  history  respecting  the  persecutions  to  which 
the  primitive  Christians  were  exposed,  that  this  figure  does 
not  at  all  outran  the  reality.    Calumnious  misrepresentation 


136  DIRECTORY  UNDER  SUFFERINGS.  [DISC.  XX. 

and  spoiling  of  goods,  stripes  and  imprisonments,  weariness 
and  painfulness,  hunger  and  thirst,  watchings  and  fastings, 
cold  and  nakedness,  were  to  them  common  trials.  The 
apostle's  description  of  the  iSIaccabean  martyrs  is  equally 
applicable  to  the  primitive  Christians.  "  Some  of  them 
were  tortured"  in  every  form  which  malignant  ingenuity 
could  devise  ;  "  others  had  trial  of  cruel  mockings  and 
scourgings,  yea,  moreover,  of  bonds  and  imprisonment : 
they  were  stoned,  they  were  sawn  asunder,  were  tempted, 
were  slain  with  the  sword  :  they  wandered  about  in  sheep- 
skins and  goat-skins  ;  being  destitute,  afflicted,  tormented  : 
they  wandered  in  deserts,  and  in  mountains,  and  in  dens 
and  caves  of  the  earth."  ^  Well  did  such  sufferings  deserve 
to  be  termed  the  burning,  "  the  fiery  trial."  ^ 

The  figure  is  equally  significant  if  we  consider  it  as 
referring  to  the  design  of  these  sufferings.  In  this  respect, 
too,  they  resembled  the  fire  of  the  refiner's  furnace.  The 
design  of  its  intense  heat  is  to  test  and  to  purify  the  precious 
metals  subjected  to  it.  The  design  of  their  sufferings  is  to 
test  the  genuineness  of  profession  and  the  power  of  prin- 
ciple ;  and,  by  separating  the  precious  from  the  vile,  to 
improve  the  character  both  of  the  Christian  society,  and  of 
the  Christian  individuals  of  which  it  is  composed. 

It  was  not  at  all  unnatural  that  the  primitive  Christians, 
when  exposed  to  such  sufferings,  should  not  only  feel  them 
to  be  very  painful,  but  reckon  them  to  be  very  wonderful ; 
that  they  should  think  '  it  strange  concerning  the  burning 
among  them,  as  if  some  strange  thing  had  happened  to 
them.'  Were  not  they  "  the  children  of  God  through  faith 
in  Christ  Jesus ;"  the  "  sons  and  daughters  of  the  Lord 
God  Almighty  ?  "^  Did  he  not  love  them  ?  Could  he  not 
protect  them  ?  Had  he  not  wisdom  enough  to  confound  all 
the  plans,  power  enough  to  restrain  and  frustrate  all  the 

1  Heb.  xi.  36-38.  2  uipco<ns.  ^  Gal.  iii.  26 ;  2  Cor.  vi.  18. 


PART  I.]  BE  NOT  ASTONISHED  AT  THEM.  137 

efforts,  of  their  enemies  ?  Had  he  not  proinised  to  preserve 
them  from  all  evil,  and  to  bestow  on  them  every  blessing  ? 
Was  it  not  strange,  in  these  circumstances,  that  they  should 
be  exposed  to  suffering  at  all  1  doubly  strange  that  they 
should  be  exposed  to  suffering  for  avowing  the  relation  and 
performing  their  duty  to  him  ?  strangest  of  all,  that  they 
should  be  exposed  to  such  suffering  when  following  such  a 
course  ? 

And  if  these  sufferings  seemed  strange  as  coming  from 
God,  they  must  also  have  appeared  strange  as  coming  from 
men.  They  were  no  disturbers  of  the  public  peace,  no 
invaders  of  private  rights.  They  were  "  blameless  and 
harmless,  the  sons  of  God  without  rebuke  ;"  ^  rendering 
to  all  their  due,  nay,  doing  good  to  all  as  they  had  oppor- 
tunity. Was  it  not  strange  that  they  should  be  the  objects 
of  the  contempt  and  dislike  of  their  fellow-citizens,  and  be 
treated  by  their  rulers  as  if  they  had  been  egregious  male- 
factors ? 

Yet,  notwithstanding  all  this,  there  was  abundant  reason 
why  the  primitive  Christians  should  not  think  their  perse- 
cutions strange,  however  severe.  No  strange  thing,  indeed, 
happened  to  them.  The  spirit  of  Christianity  is  so  directly 
opposed  to  the  spirit  of  the  world,  that  the  wonder  is,  not 
that  there  has  been  so  much  persecution,  but  that  there  has 
not  been  more.  But  for  the  restraints  of  God's  providence 
on  the  world,  and  on  him  who  is  its  prince  and  god,  Chris- 
tianity and  Christians  had  long  ago  been  exterminated. 
"  If  they  were  of  the  world,  the  world  w^ould  love  its  own  ; 
but  because  they  were  not  of  the  world,  even  as  He  who 
called  them  was  not  of  the  world,  therefore  the  world  hated 
them  as  it  hated  him."  ^  Without  an  entire  change  in  the 
spiritual  character  of  the  world,  it  could  not  have  been 
otherwise.  It  would  have  been  strange  indeed  if  it  had  not 
1  Phil.  ii.  15.  2  John  XV.  18. 


138  DIRECTORY  UNDER  SUFFERINGS.  [DISC.  XX. 

hated  them.  No  !  "  It  is  not  strange  that  the  malignant 
world  should  hate  holiness,  hate  the  light,  hate  the  very 
shadow  of  it :  the  more  the  children  of  God  walk  like  their 
Father  and  their  home,  the  more  unlike  must  they  of  neces- 
sity become  to  the  world  about  them,  and  therefore  become 
the  very  marks  of  their  enmities  and  malice."  "  There  is 
in  the  life  of  a  Christian  a  convincing  light,  that  shows  the 
depravity  of  the  works  of  darkness,  and  a  piei'cing  heat  that 
scorches  the  ungodly,  which  stirs  and  troubles  their  con- 
sciences. This  they  cannot  endure,  and  hence  rises  in  them 
a  contrary  fire  of  wicked  hatred  ;  and  hence  the  trials,  the 
fiery  trials,  of  the  godly."  ^ 

Nor  is  this  the  only  reason  why  Christians  should  not 
account  sufferings  for  the  cause  of  Christ,  however  severe, 
"  strange."  They  are  not  only  natural,  so  far  as  a  wicked 
world  is  concerned,  but  they  are  necessary  for  them.  "  It 
is  needful,"  as  the  apostle  observes  above, — "  it  is  needful 
that  ye  for  a  season  be  in  heaviness  through  manifold 
temptation."  Such  seasons  of  persecution  are  necessary  to 
the  Church  as  a  body.  During  a  period  of  comparative 
worldly  prosperity,  multitudes  of  worldly  men  find  their 
way  into  the  communion  of  the  Church ;  and,  just  in  the 
degree  in  which  they  have  influence  in  it,  unfit  it  for  its 
great  purposes  both  to  those  within  its  pale  and  those 
without  it.  A  period  of  uninterrupted  external  prosperity, 
if  it  were  not  attended  with  such  an  effusion  of ,  divine 
influence  as  the  world  has  never  yet  witnessed,  would  soon 
lead  to  such  secularization  of  the  Church  as  would  destroy 
the  distinction  of  the  Church  from  the  world ;  not  by  con- 
verting the  world,  but  by  perverting  the  Church  ;  not  by 
making  the  world  Christian,  but  by  making  the  Church 
worldly.  It  is  needful  that  the  great  husbandman  take  the 
fan  in  his  hand,  that  he  may  purge  his  floor,  driving  off  the 
^  Leischton. 


PART  I.]        BE  NOT  ASTONISHED  AT  THEM.  139 

chaff,  and  bringing  close  together  the  good  grain.  "  When 
tribulation  for  the  word's  sake  ariseth,"  those  who  have 
"  no  root  in  themselves  are  offended,"  stumbled, — they  "  go 
away,  and  walk  no  more  with  Jesus"  and  his  persecuted 
followers ;  and  it  is  a  good  riddance ;  while,  on  the  other 
hand,  tribulation  in  the  case  of  those  who  "  have  root  in 
themselves,"  "  works  patience,"  endurance.  It  produces 
not  apostasy,  but  perseverance.^  For  as  persecution  purifies 
the  Church,  so  it  improves  her  true  members.  They  are 
called  by  it  to  a  more  vigorous  exercise  of  all  the  principles 
of  the  new  life  ;  and  it  is  a  general  law,  that  exercise 
invigorates.  It  is  at  once  an  indication  of  health,  and  a 
means  of  improving- it.  The  Christian  in  the  day  of  trial 
quits  himself  like  a  man,  and  becomes  strong.  His  faith, 
his  hope,  his  patience,  his  zeal,  his  humility,  are  increased 
exceedingly.  "  The  trial  of  faith,"  by  these  afflictions,  "  is 
more  precious  than  the  trial  of  gold."  Gold  can  never  be 
so  purified  as  to  become  incorruptible  ;  but  faith,  strength- 
ened by  trial,  becomes  invincible,  and  will  "  be  found  to 
praise,  and  honour,  and  glory,  at  the  appearing  of  Jesus 
Christ."  Suffering  for  Christ,  in  some  form  and  degree  or 
other,  seems  to  be  essential  to  the  formation  of  the  Christian 
character ;  and  that  character  has  usually  reached  nearest 
to  perfection  in  those  who  have  had  the  largest  share  of  that 
kind  of  trial. 

Another  reason  why  Christians  should  not  think  "  the 
fiery  trial"  a  strange  thing  is,  that  their  Lord  met  with 
severe  sufferings,  "  the  contradiction  of  sinners  against 
himself,"  and  that  all  their  brethren  who  had  gone  before 
them  have  also  been  severely  afflicted.  Should  they  think 
it  strange  to  be  led  to  heaven  in  the  same  road  by  which 
He  and  they  had  travelled  ?  "  The  disciple  is  not  above 
his  master,  nor  the  servant  above  his  lord.  If  they  have 
1  Matt.  xiii.  6,  21  ;  Rom.  v.  3, — uira^ov-/?. 


140  DIRECTORY  UNDER  SUFFERINGS.  [UISC.  XX. 

persecuted  me,  tliey  will  persecute  you."  Such  afflictions, 
too,  were  "  fulfilled"  in  their  brethren  who  had  been  in  the 
world.  Are  they  better  than  the  apostles,  who  were  "  as 
gazing-stocks  to  the  world,  to  angels,  and  to  men  ? "  ^ 

There  is  yet  another  reason  why  Christians  should  never 
think  persecution  for  Christ's  sake,  however  severe,  a 
strange  thing.  It  is  something  they  should  be  prepared 
for ;  for  they  have  been  very  plainly  taught  that  they  may 
assuredly  expect  it  in  some  form  or  other.  "  To  this  they 
have  been  called."  "  In  the  world  ye  shall  have  tribula- 
tion." "  Marvel  not  that  the  world  should  hate  you."  "  If 
any  man  will  be  my  disciple,  let  him  deny  himself,"  for- 
sake all,  "  take  up  his  cross,  and  follow  me."  "  All  who 
will  live  godly  must,"  says  the  apostle,  "  suffer  persecu- 
tion." "  Throuo;li  much  tribulation  we  must  enter  into  the 
kingdom."^ 

Christians,  then,  in  no  age  of  the  Church  or  the  world, 
should  count  sufferings  for  the  cause  of  Christ  a  strange 
thing.  The  primitive  Christians  were  especially  warned  by 
our  Lord,  that  the  season  which  had  arrived  when  Peter 
wrote  this  epistle,  the  period  immediately  preceding  the 
destruction  of  Jerusalem,  was  to  be  to  his  followers  a  period 
of  peculiarly  severe  trial.  It  is  in  reference  to  the  suffer- 
ings of  those  times  he  says,  "  See  that  ye  be  not  troubled. 
All  these  things  must  come  to  pass.  Lo,  I  have  told  you 
before."  The  exhortation  of  Peter  is  very  nearly  parallel 
with  that  of  his  brother  Paul,  in  an  epistle  written  about 
the  same  time :  ''  Let  no  man  be  moved  by  these  afflictions, 
for  yourselves  know  that  ye  are  appointed  thereunto."^ 

1  John  XV.  20  ;  1  Cor.  iv.  9. 

2  John  xvi.  33  ;  Matt.  xvi.  24  ;  Mark  viii.  34 ;  Luke  ix.  23 ;  2  Tim. 
iii.  12  ;  Acts  xiv.  22. 

3  Matt.  xxiv.  6  ;  1  Thess.  iii.  3. 


PART  II.]  BE  NOT  DEPRESSED  BY  THEM.  141 


II.    BE  NOT  DEPRESSED  BY  YOUR  SUFFERINGS. 

The  second  direction  given  by  the  apostle  to  his  brethren 
is,  "  Be  not  depressed  by  your  sufferings."  "  Rejoice,  inas- 
much as  ye  are  partakers  of  the  sufferings  of  Christ ;  tliat, 
when  his  glory  shall  be  revealed,  ye  may  be  glad  also  with 
exceeding  joy.  If  ye  be  reproached  for  the  name  of  Christ, 
happy  are  ye  ;  for  the  Spirit  of  glory  and  of  God  resteth 
upon  you  :  on  their  part  he  is  evil  spoken  of  (blasphemed), 
but  on  your  part  he  is  glorified." 

In  these  words  the  apostle  first  calls  on  them  generally 
not  to  be  depressed  by  their  sufferings  for  Christ,  but,  on 
the  contrary,  to  rejoice  in  them.  He  gives  at  the  same 
time  very  good  reasons  for  his  injunction,  reasons  applicable 
to  all  sufferings,  of  whatever  kind,  for  the  cause  of  Christ ; 
and  he  then  calls  on  them  not  to  be  depressed  by  a  par- 
ticular form  of  suffering,  that  of  reproach,  which  is  very 
much  fitted  to  have  this  effect;  and  enforces  this  exhortation 
by  a  very  powerful  and  appropriate  motive. 

The  apostle  calls  on  Christians,  for  two  reasons,  not  to  be 
depressed  by,  but  to  rejoice  in,  their  sufferings  for  Christ, 
whatever  form  they  might  wear  ;  whether  loss  of  property, 
reputation,  liberty,  or  life : — First,  because,  in  enduring 
these  sufferings,  they  are  partakers  of  Christ's  suffei'ings  ; 
and  secondly,  because  their  fellowship  with  Christ  in  his 
sufferings  is,  by  the  divine  appointment,  connected  with 
fellowship  with  him  in  his  enjoyments  at  the  revelation  of 
his  glory. 

1.  Christians,  in  suffering  for  Christ,  are  "partakers  of 
the  sufferings  of  Christ."  In  all  their  afflictions  Christians 
may  be  viewed  as  having  fellowship  with  Christ.  When 
they  suffer,  they  are  treading  in  his  steps  who  was,  by  way 
of  eminence,  a  sufferer, — "  the  man  of  sorrows  and  ac- 
quainted with  grief;"  and  it  is  the  communication  of  his 


142  DIRECTORY  UNDER  SUFFERINGS.  [DISC.  XX. 

Spirit  which  enables  them  to  bear  their  sufferings  in  the 
same  temper  in  which  he  bore  his.  But  there  is  a  pecuHar 
propriety  in  representing  them,  when  suffering  for  their 
attachment  to  him,  as  being  partakers  of  his  sufferings. 
The  sufferings  they  then  endure  are  endured  in  the  same 
cause  in  which  his  sufferings  were  endured — the  cause  of 
truth  and  righteousness,  the  cause  of  God's  glory  and  man's 
happiness.  They  are  inflicted  on  them  just  because  they 
are  like  Him;  and  they  who  persecute  them  would,  had  they 
it  in  their  power,  persecute  him  as  they  persecute  them. 
They  stand  in  his  place;  they  are  his  representatives.  They 
are  "in  the  world  as  he  was  in  the  world;"  and  are  there- 
fore treated  by  the  world  as  he  was  treated  by  the  world. 
"  Therefore  the  world  knoweth  not,"  acknowledgeth  not  in 
their  true  character,  "  them,  because  it  knew  not,"  acknow- 
ledged not,  "  him "  in  his  true  character.  They  are  so 
identified  with  him,  that  he  considers  what  is  done  to  them 
as  done  to  Him.  "  He  that  touches  them  touches  the  apple 
of  his  eye."  "  Saul,  Saul,"  said  he  from  the  opened  heavens, 
"  why  persecutest  thou  me?"  And  at  last,  from  the  throne 
of  universal  judgment,  shall  he  say  to  those  who  have 
cruelly  neglected  or  despitefuUy  used  his  suffering  people, 
"  Inasmuch  as  ye  did  it  not  to  one  of  the  least  of  these  my 
brethren,  ye  did  it  not  to  me.  Inasmuch  as  ye  did  it  to 
one  of  the  least  of  these,  ye  did  it  to  me." 

Every  true  Christian,  suffering  in  the  cause  of  Christ, 
may  say  with  the  Apostle  Paul,  "  I  fill  up  that  which  is 
behind  of  the  afflictions  of  Christ  in  my  flesh."  ^  We  are 
not  to  suppose  that  our  Lord  left  any  sufferings  to  be  en- 
dured by  Paul,  or  any  one  else,  as  the  expiation  of  the  sins 
or  the  ransom  of  the  souls  of  his  people.  These  great 
objects  were  fully  secured  by  his  sufferings  "  in  his  own 
body,"  "  the  body  of  his  flesh  by  death."  On  the  cross,  in 
1  Col.  i.  24. 


PART  II.]        BE  NOT  DEPRESSED  BY  THEM.  143 

reference  to  them,  he  said,  ''  It  is  finished."  These  suffer- 
ings were  his  personal  burden.  We  partake  of  them,  not 
in  the  way  of  supplementing  them  by  our  sufferings,  but 
by  becoming  sharers  of  their  precious  fruits.  Tliey  are 
accounted  to  us  as  if  they  had  been  ours ;  and  we  are 
acquitted,  and  justified,  and  saved  by  them,  as  a  full  satis- 
faction to  the  demands  of  the  law  on  us  as  sinners.  The 
endurance  of  these  expiatory  sufferings  is  something  abso- 
lutely peculiar  to  him.  We  have,  we  can  have,  no  part  nor 
lot  in  that  matter.  The  meaning  of  the  apostle  plainly  is  : 
'  I  am  so  closely  connected  with  Christ,  that  lie  regards 
those  sufferings  endured  by  me  in  his  cause,  as  his  suffer- 
ings in  my  body.  I  know  there  is  a  certain  measure  of  such 
sufferings  allotted  to  me,  as  to  every  other  Christian.  I 
have  undergone  already  a  part  of  those  sufferings ;  and  in 
the  sufferings  which  I  now  undergo  for  the  sake  of  you, 
Thessaloniaus,  a  part  of  his  body,  I  rejoice  to  think  that  I 
am  filling  up  what  remains  of  the  sufferings  appointed  me, 
and  which  I  delight  in  thinking;  of  as  the  sufferino;s  of 
Christ  in  my  body.'  "  The  filling  up  spoken  of  by  the 
apostle  is  not  the  supplementing  Christ's  personal  sufferings, 
but  it  is  the  completing  that  share  allotted  to  himself  as  one 
of  the  members  of  Christ — as  sufferings  which,  from  the 
intimacy  of  union  between  the  head  and  the  members,  may 
be  called  his  sufferings.  Christ  lived  in  Paul,  spoke  in 
Paul,  wrought  in  Paul,  suffered  in  Paul ;  and  in  a  similar 
sense  the  sufferings  of  every  Christian  for  Christ  are  the 
sufferings  of  Christ." 

This  is  a  view  of  suffering  for  Christ  well  fitted  to  prevent 
depression  and  to  produce  holy  joy.  "  It  seems  obviously 
fit,"  as  Leighton  says,  "  that  we  should  follow  where  our 
Captain  led.  It  is  not  becoming  that  he  should  lead  through 
rugged,  thorny  ways,  and  we  pass  about  to  get  away  through 
flowery  meadows.      As  his  natural  body  shared  with   his 


144  DIRECTORY  UNDER  SUFFERINGS.  [DISC.  XX. 

nead  in  suffering,  so  ought  his  mystical  body  with  him  who 
is  their  head." 

And  as  this  is  fit,  so  it  is  pleasant.  It  is  good,  no  less 
than  becoming  well.  "  It  is  a  sweet,  joyful  thing,  to  be  a 
sharer  with  Christ  in  anything.  All  enjoyments  wherein 
he  is  not  are  bitter  to  a  soul  who  loves  him,  and  all  suffer- 
ings with  him  are  sweet.  The  worst  things  of  Christ  are 
more  truly  delightful  than  the  best  things  of  the  world;  his 
afflictions  sweeter  than  their  pleasures,  his  reproaches  more 
glorious  than  their  honours,  and  more  rich  than  their  trea- 
sures. Love  delights  in  likeness  and  communion ;  not  only 
in  things  otherwise  pleasant,  but  in  the  hardest  and  harshest 
things  which  have  not  in  them  anything  desirable,  but  only 
that  likeness.  So  that  this  thought  is  very  sweet  to  a  heart 
possessed  with  this  love.  What  does  the  world  by  its  hatred 
and  persecutions  and  revilings  for  Christ,  but  make  me 
more  like  him,  give  me  a  greater  share  with  him  in  that 
which  he  did  so  willingly  undergo  for  me.  '  When  he  was 
sought  to  be  made  a  king,  he  escaped,'  says  Bernard,"  the 
last  of  the  fathers  ;  " '  but  when  he  was  sought  for  the 
cross,  he  freely  yielded  himself.'  And  shall  I  shrink  and 
creep  back  from  what  he  calls  me  to  suffer  for  his  sake  ? 
Yea,  even  all  my  other  troubles  and  sufferings  I  will  desire 
to  have  stamped  thus  with  this  conformity  to  the  sufferings 
of  Christ,  in  the  humble,  obedient,  cheerful  endurance  of 
them,  and  tiie  giving  up  my  will  to  my  Fathei''s.  The 
following  of  Christ  makes  any  way  pleasant ;  his  faithful 
followers  refuse  no  march  after  him,  be  it  through  deserts, 
and  mountains,  and  storms,  and  hazards  that  would  affright 
self-pleasing,  easy  spirits.  Hearts  kindled  and  actuated 
by  the  Spirit  of  Christ,  will  follow  him  whithersoever  he 
goeth."! 

2.  A  second  reason  assigned  by  the  apostle  why  perse- 
1  Leighton. 


PART  II.]  BE  NOT  DEPRESSED  BY  THEM.  145 

ciitecl  Christians  should  not  be  depressed  by,  but  rather 
rejoice  in,  their  sufferings,  is,  that  this  fellowship  with  Christ 
in  his  sufferings  is,  by  the  divine  appointment,  connected 
witli  fellowship  with  him  in  his  enjoyments  at  the  revelation 
of  his  glory.  "  Ye  are  partakers  of  Christ's  sufferings  ; 
that,  when  his  glory  shall  be  revealed,  ye  may  be  glad  also 
with  exceeding  joy." 

The  glory  of  Christ  is  the  transcendent  personal  ex- 
cellence, and  official  dignity  and  authority,  which  belong  to 
the  God-man  Mediator.  Of  that  glory  a  partial  manifesta- 
tion is  made  in  the  word  of  the  truth  of  the  gospel,  and  in 
his  administration  of  that  universal  empire  which  he  pos- 
sesses, as  well  as  in  his  dispensations  towards  the  Church  as 
a  body,  and  towards  its  individual  members,  with  whom  he 
stands  connected  in  a  relation  so  intimate  and  peculiar.  By 
those  who  by  his  Spirit  are  led  to  understand  and  believe 
the  gospel,  and  by  its  light  to  contemplate  the  dispensations 
of  his  kingdoms  of  providence  and  grace,  this  glory  is 
partially  apprehended ;  and  whenever  it  is  so,  it  casts  all 
other  glory  into  the  shade.  That  which  had  glory  has  now 
no  glory,  by  reason  of  the  glory  that  excelleth.  The  Word, 
who  was  made  flesh  and  dwelt  among  men,  may  be  seen  in 
his  wondrous  works  as  in  a  mirror ;  and  all  who  in  them 
behold  his  glory,  acknowledge  that  it  is  a  glory  worthy  of 
the  only-begotten  of  the  Father,^  and  that  he  is  indeed  full 
of  grace  and  truth.  And  by  the  believing  contemplation  of 
this  glory  they  themselves  in  their  measure  become  glorious; 
they  are  changed  into  its  likeness,  made  glorious  by  that 
which  is  glorious,  converted  by  glory  into  glory .^ 

It  is,  however,  but  a  dim  reflection  of  his  glory  that 
reaches  this  dark  earth.  His  glory,  like  himself,  is  "hid 
with  God."  The  great  body  of  men  see  it  not  at  all,  being 
destitute  of  the  spiritual  organs  by  which  alone  it  can  be 

^  'ill  fiovoyivous  Tctjicc  varpo;.      Jolin  i.   14.  2  O  Cor.  iiJ.   18. 

VOL.  III.  K 


146  DIRECTORY  UNDER  SUFFERINGS.  [DISC.  XX. 

discerned ;  and  even  they  who  see  most  of  it,  see  at  best 
"through  a  glass,"  or  by  means  of  a  mirror,  "darkly;" 
"  they  know  but  in  part,  they  understand  but  in  part." 

But  this  glory  is  not  always  to  continue  so  imperfectly 
manifested  in  our  world  to  its  inhabitants.  Out  of  his 
heavenly  sanctuary  he  is  yet  to  shine  forth  gloriously. 
His  "glorious  appearance,"  or  the  appearance  of  his  glory, 
is  "  the  blessed  hope"  of  all  who  believe.  At  the  close  of 
the  present  order  of  things  he  will  come  "  in  his  own  glory, 
and  in  the  glory  of  his  Father,  and  in  the  glory  of  his  holy 
angels."  He  will  come  "  in  clouds,  and  every  eye  shall  see 
him."  He  will  come  "  in  flaming  fire,  to  take  vengeance 
on  them  that  know  not  God,  and  that  obey  not  the  gospel ; 
and  to  be  glorified  in  his  saints,  and  admired  in  all  them 
that  believe."^  He  will  come  to  manifest  the  glories  of  his 
power,  and  wisdom,  and  righteousness,  and  gi'ace,  removing 
entirely  and  for  ever  the  cloud  of  mystery  which  hangs 
over  the  divine  character  and  dispensations,  and  manifesting 
himself  at  once  in  all  the  glories  of  untarnished  holiness 
and  inflexible  justice,  and  infinite,  omnipotent,  all-wise  be- 
nignity, as  the  righteous  Judge  and  the  all-accomplished 
Saviour. 

.  This  revelation  at  once  of  the  glories  of  his  righteousness 
and  grace,  shall  be  a  source  of  the  highest  satisfaction  to 
all  his  redeemed  ones ;  and  then  shall  be  fully  compensated 
all  the  privations  and  sacrifices  and  sufferings  to  which  they 
have  submitted  for  his  name's  sake.  Then  "  shall  they 
rejoice  with  exceeding  joy."  "  In  this  last  time,"  when  the 
salvation  to  which  in  the  present  times  they  are  kept  by 
the  power  of  God  through  faith  shall  be  revealed,  and  in 
the  revelation  of  which  shall  be  revealed  the  glory  of  Christ 
the  Saviour,  "they  shall  rejoice  with  a  joy  that  is  unspeak- 
able and  full  of  glory." 

1  2  Thess.  i.  7-10. 


PART  II.]  BE  NOT  DEPRESSED  BY  THEM.  147 

And  they  shall  have  good  cause  thus  to  rejoice  ;  for  when 
He  who  is  their  life  appears,  is  manifested,  they  shall  also 
appear  or  be  manifested  in  glory.  His  glorious  appearing, 
and  their  manifestation  as  the  sons  of  God,  by  their  enter- 
ing on  full  possession  of  all  the  privileges  of  divine  sonship, 
shall  be  contemporaneous.  He  shall  appear  in  glory,  and 
they  shall  be  "  like  him,  seeing  him  as  he  is."  "  When  the 
Son  of  man  shall  come  in  his  glory,  and  all  the  holy  angels 
with  him,  when  he  shall  sit  on  the  throne  of  his  glory,  and 
before  him  shall  be  gathered  all  nations,"  he  will  make 
those  who  have  been  partakers  of  his  sufferings  exceeding 
glad  in  the  fellowship  of  his  glory.  Having  reunited  their 
glorified  spirits  to  their  once  mortal  but  now  immortal 
bodies,  he  shall  place  them  at  his  right  hand  as  his  honoured 
friends,  and  shall  say  to  them  in  the  presence  of  the  assem- 
bled universe  of  intelligent  beings,  "  Come,  ye  blessed  of 
my  Father,  inherit  the  kingdom  prepared  for  you  from  the 
foundation  of  the  world."  And  then  "  they  shall  go  into 
life  eternal;"^  and  "conquerors,  more  than  conquerors," 
through  his  love,  sit  down  with  him  on  his  throne,  even  as 
he,  when  he  had  overcome,  sat  down  with  his  Father  on 
his  throne,  and  shall  "reign  in  life"  with  him  for  ever  and 
ever.  Such  are  the  blessings  which  await  all  the  faithful 
at  the  coming  of  the  Lord  ;  and  there  is  reason  to  conclude 
that  the  measure  of  the  enjoyment  and  glory  of  individuals 
will  correspond  to  the  measure  of  labour  and  sufferings 
submitted  to  in  his  cause. 

This  is  a  consideration  well  fitted  not  only  to  prevent 
depression  of  mind  under  suffering  however  severe,  but  to 
fill  the  heart  with  holy  triumph,  and  enable  the  Christian 
to  glory  in  such  tribulation  as  is  connected  with  so  glorious 
a  hope,  counting  it  indeed  "  all  joy  to  be"  for  Christ's  cause 
"  brought  into  manifold  temptations."  Well,  as  the  pious 
1  Matt.  XXV.  31-46. 


148  DIRECTORY  UNDER  SUFFERINGS.  [DISC.  XX. 

Archbishop  says,  may  Christians  "  rejoice  in  the  midst  of 
all  their  sufferings,  standing  upon  the  advanced  ground  of 
the  covenant  of  grace,  and  by  faith  looking  beyond  this 
moment,  and  all  that  is  in  it,  to  that  day  wherein  the  crown 
of  everlasting  joy,  that  diadem  of  beauty,  shall  be  put  upon 
their  head,  and  when  sorrow  and  mourning  shall  fly  away. 
Oh,  that  blessed  hope !  How  soon  will  this  pageant  of  the 
world  that  men  are  gazing  on,  these  pictures  and  fancies  of 
pleasures  and  honours,  falsely  so  called,  vanish  and  give 
place  to  the  real  glory  of  the  sons  of  God,  where  the 
blessed  First-born  among  many  brethren  shall  be  seen 
appearing  in  full  majesty,  as  the  Only-begotten  of  the 
Father,  and  all  his  brethren  with  him,  beholding  and  shar- 
ing his  glory,  having  '  come  out  of  great  tribulation,  and 
washed  their  robes  and  made  them  white  in  the  blood  of 
the  Lamb.'"  Believing  that  if  we  suffer  with  him  it  is 
that  we  may  be  glorified  together  with  him,  we  cannot  but 
"  judge  that  the  sufferings  of  the  present  time  are  not 
worthy  to  be  compared  with  the  glory  that  is  to  be  revealed 
in  us  ;"  so  that  we  may  well  rejoice  amid  these  sufferings, 
especially  as  we  know  that  "these  light  afflictions,  which 
are  but  for  a  moment,  are  working  out  for  us  a  far  more 
exceeding  and  eternal  weight  of  glory."  ^  There  is  some- 
thing more  than  mere  sequence  here.  _"  We  are  partakers 
of  his  sufferings ;  that,  when  his  glory  is  revealed,  we  may 
rejoice  with  exceeding  joy." 

Having  thus  enforced  the  general  exhortation  not  to  be 
depressed  by,  but  to  rejoice  in,  sufferings  for  Christ,  of 
whatever  kind,  from  a  consideration  of  the  nature  of  these 
sufferings,  as  sufferings  in  which  they  have  fellowship  with 
Christ,  and  of  the  design  and  certain  issue  of  such  suffer- 
ings, the  bringing  of  them  into  the  fellowship  of  the 
Saviour's  glory  and  joy,  the  apostle  next  calls  their  atten- 
1  Rom.  \-iii.  17,  18 ;  2  Cor.  iv.  17,  18. 


PART  II.]  BE  NOT  DEPRESSED  BY  THEM.  149 

tion  to  a  particular  form  of  suffering,  in  its  own  nature 
peculiarly  fitted  to  depress  the  mind,  "  reproach/'  and  shows 
that  even  it  is  a  proper  ground  not  of  depression,  but  of 
exultation.  "  If  ye  be  reproached  for  the  name  of  Christ, 
happy  are  ye,^  for  the  Spirit  of  glory  and  of  God  resteth  on 
you ;  on  their  part  he  is  evil  spoken  of,  but  on  your  part  he 
is  glorified." 

Reproach  was  one  of  the  most  common  and  most  severe 
of  the  trials  of  the  persecuted  primitive  Christians.  And 
few  things  are  more  fitted  to  break  the  heart ;  as  the 
Psalmist,  in  the  person  of  the  Messiah,  says,  "  Reproach 
hath  broken  my  heart ;  I  am  full  of  heaviness."'  Their 
"names  were  cast  out  as  evil."  They  wei'e  "  accounted  as 
the  filth  of  the  world,  and  the  offscouring  of  all  things ;" 
and  they  were  thus  reproached  for  being  Christ's,^ — for 
bearing  his  name,  and  professing  his  religion, — for  believing 
its  doctrines,  for  cherishing  its  hopes,  for  observing  its 
institutions,  for  obeying  its  laws.  On  this  account  they 
were  represented  as  despisers  of  the  gods,  enemies  of  the 
commonwealth,  haters  of  mankind,  the  accomplices  or  the 
dupes  of  an  impostor,  deceived  or  deceivers,  dreaming 
enthusiasts  or  designino;  villains. 

Now,  says  the  apostle,  be  not  discouraged  by  all  tliis 
contumely.  If  you  are  really — what  these  men  call  you — 
Christians,  you  are  truly  happy,  and  are  possessed  of  a  true 
inward  honour  and  glory,  of  wliich  all  their  malignant 
abuse  can  in  no  degree  deprive  you.  "  The  Spirit  of  glory 
and  of  God  resteth  on  you  ;"  that  is,  the  Spirit  of  glory, 
even  the  Spirit  of  God,  resteth  on  you  ;  or,  the  Spirit  of  God 
resteth  on  you  as  the  Spirit  of  glory. 

There  can  be  no  doubt  that  the  reference  here  is  to  the 

'  Here,  as  at  ch.  iii.  14,  tliere  is  an  evident  reference  to  tlie  Sermon 
on  the  Mount.     Matt.  v.  1 1 . 
2  Ps.  Ixix.  20. 


150  DIRECTORY  UNDER  SUFFERINGS.  [DISC.  XX. 

Holy  Ghost,  personally  the  divine  author  of  our  salvation, 
so  far  as  it  is  an  inward  transformation.  The  appellation, 
"  the  Spirit  of  glory,"  may  be  considered  as  equivalent  to 
the  glorious  Spirit  of  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ ;  as  ''  the  Lord 
of  glory"  means  our  glorious  Lord  Jesus  Christ.^  But  it 
seems  more  probable  that  the  Holy  Spirit  is  here  termed 
the  Spirit  of  glory,  to  indicate  that  he  is  the  author  of  true 
glory  and  honour.  Unbelieving  men  reckoned  the  primitive 
Christians  despicable  and  dishonourable,  and  called  them 
so  in  their  reproaches.  But  were  they  indeed  so  ?  No,  by 
no  means.  The  Spirit  of  God,  who  is  the  fountain  of  true 
honour,  rested  on  them,  and  by  his  influence  formed  them 
to  a  character  which  was  the  proper  object,  not  of  contempt, 
but  of  approbation  and  admiration  to  all  good  and  wise 
intelligent  beino;s. 

It  is  as  if  the  apostle  had  said,  '  You  are  really  honour- 
able, and  your  honour  is  not  of  a  kind  of  which  these  re- 
proaches can  deprive  you.  They  count  you  fools  ;  but  the 
Spirit  of  wisdom  and  good  understanding  rests  on  you,  and 
makes  you  wise  unto  salvation :  he  gives  you  a  sound  mind, 
and  makes  you  of  good  understanding.  They  count  you 
weak,  and  contemn  you  for  your  imbecility  in  the  sight  of 
the  Lord  ;  but  he  makes  you  "  strong  in  the  Lord,  and  in 
the  power  of  his  might ;"  he  is  in  you  "  the  Spirit  of  power," 
as  well  as  "  of  a  sound  mind."  They  reckon  you  mean, 
but  he  gives  you  true  dignity  and  grandeur  of  character ; 
he  makes  you  "great  in  the  sight  of  the  Lord,"  and  decks 
you  with  ornaments  becoming  your  dignity  as  kings  and 
priests  unto  God,  even  your  Father.  Is  not  the  considera- 
tion of  what  he  has  made  you  more  than  sufficient  to 
neutralize  the  painful  effects  of  all  that  they  can  call  you  ? 
If  he  has  made  you  wise,  what  though  they  call  you  fools  ? 
If  he  has  made  you  strong,  what  though  they  call  you 
^  James  ii.  1. 


PART  II  ]  BE  NOT  DEPRESSED  BY  THEM.  151 

weak  ?  If  he  has  made  you  illustrious,  what  though  they 
should  represent  you  as  despicable  ?  His  bearing  witness 
with  your  spirits  that  you  are  indeed  the  sons  of  God, 
"  and  if  sons  then  heirs,  heirs  of  God  and  joint-heirs  with 
Christ  Jesus,"  is  surely  more  than  enough  to  counterbalance 
all  their  false  and  malignant  reproaches.'  Such  seems  to 
be  the  import  of  the  motive  which  the  apostle  employs  to 
induce  Christians  to  rise  above  the  disheartening  influence 
of  reproach  for  Christ,  and  even  to  rejoice  in  it.  If  you 
are  Christians  indeed,  you  have  a  real  abiding  honour, 
springing  from  the  Spirit  of  God,  who  is  the  Spirit  of  glory 
resting  on  you,  dwelling  in  you,  which  their  reproaches  can 
in  no  degree  affect. 

The  meaning  and  reference  of  the  concluding  words  of 
the  14th  verse,  "  On  their  part  he  is  evil  spoken  of,  but  on 
your  part  he  is  glorified,"  are  somewhat  doubtful.  They 
may  mean,  what  from  their  rendering  our  translators 
obviously  supposed  they  did  mean.  This  Spirit  of  glory 
which  exists  in  you  is  evil  spoken  of,  or  blasphemed,  by 
those  men  who  reproach  you  for  the  name  of  Christ,  who 
load  you  with  abuse  because  you  are  Christians.  He  made 
you  what  you  are  as  Christians,  and  in  reproaching  you 
they  indeed  blaspheme  him.  They  who  mock  at  Christians, 
as  Christians,  play  at  a  dangerous  game.  The  time  is 
coming  when  the  Son  of  God  will  say,  "Inasmuch  as  ye 
did  it  to  them,  ye  did  it  to  me ;"  and  the  Spirit  of  God  will 
say,  '  In  reproaching  them  you  blasphemed  me,  in  ridiculing 
my  work  you  poured  contempt  on  my  person.'  Let  the 
men  of  the  world  take  care.  What  they  think  but  a  jest, 
may  prove  a  very  serious  affair.  The  Jews  thought  they 
were  putting  to  death  a  poor  unfriended  Nazarene  :  it 
turned  out  that  they  crucified  the  Lord  of  glory.  The 
enemies  of  vital  Christianity  may  think  they  are  only 
running  down  a  set  of  wrongheaded  enthusiasts  :  it  may 


152  DIRECTORY  UNDER  SUFFERINGS.  [DISC.  XX. 

turn  out  they  are  coming  very  near  the  sin  "  that  hath  no 
forgiveness,  neither  in  this  world  nor  in  that  which  is  to 
come."  It  is  as  if  the  apostle  had  said,  Their  reproaches 
are  more  against  the  Spirit  that  animates  you  than  against 
you. 

But  while  they  blaspheme  him,  yon.  glorify  him  ;  and 
surely  it  is  very  meet  that  it  should  be  so.  Christians 
should  honour  the  Holy  Spirit,  who  makes  them  honourable. 
They  should  show  forth  his  praises,  giving  visible  form  to 
his  inward  work,  by  proving  themselves  to  be  under  his 
influence  as  "  the  Spirit  of  love,  and  of  power,  and  of  a 
sound  mind."  This  is  the  best  way  of  meeting  the  re- 
proaches of  men  against  ourselves  as  Christians,  and  against 
the  Spirit  by  whom,  as  Christians,  we  are  animated  and 
guided.  Let  us  show  what  manner  of  spirit  we  are  of ; 
that  it  is  indeed  the  Spirit  of  glory  that  rests  on  us, — a 
Spirit  which  makes  "  pure,  then  peaceable,  geutle,  and  easy 
to  be  entreated," — a  Spirit  which  leads  us  to  think  on  and 
to  practise  "  whatsoever  things  are  true,  whatsoever  things 
are  honest,  whatsoever  things  are  just,  whatsoever  things 
are  pure,  whatsoever  things  are  lovely,  whatsoever  things 
are  of  good  report."  ^ 

While  this  is  important  truth,  and  while  the  words  in 
themselves  may  be  considered  as  well  enough  fitted  .to  con- 
vey it,  I  am  rather  disposed  to  go  along  with  those  inter- 
preters who  consider  the  verhs  here  as  used  impersonally, 
and  think  the  apostle  expresses  this  sentiment :  On  their 
part  there  is  evil-speaking,  blasphemy,  reproach  ;  but  on 
your  part  there  is  glory,  true  honour.  They  reproach, 
indeed,  but  ye  are  not  dishonoured.  The  Spirit  of  glory 
rests  on  you,  and  therefore  all  their  reproaches  cannot  rob 
you  of  true  honour,  cannot  make  you  really  contemptible. 
You  are  what  the  Spirit  of  God  has  made  you,  not  what 
1  James  iii.  17  ;  Phi!,  iii.  8. 


PART  II.]       BE  NOT  DEPEESSED  BY  THEM.  153 

tliey  represent  you.  Wliat  a  comfort  is  this  to  a  calum- 
niated Christian,  and  how  well  fitted  to  enable  him  in 
patience  to  possess  his  soul,  amid  calumnious  reproaches 
and  cruel  mockings ! 

There  is  a  question  which  naturally  enough  is  suggested 
by  what  has  been  said.  Since  we  all,  with  scarcely  an 
exception,  profess  the  religion  of  Christ,  have  we  ever  been 
exposed "  to  suffering  on  account  of  our  religion  1  Is  the 
fiery  trial  a  strange  thing  to  us?  Have  we  never  been 
"partakers  of  the  sufferings  of  Christ '?"  never  been  ex- 
posed to  "  the  reproach  of  Christ  ?"  If  we  have  not,  I  am 
afraid  there  is  something  wanting,  something  wrong.  The 
world  and  Christianity  are  substantially  the  same  things 
they  were  in  the  primitive  times  ;  and  though  the  world 
may  take  other  ways  of  showing  its  hatred  and  contempt 
of  Christianity  and  Christians  now  than  it  did  then,  that 
hatred  and  contempt  still  exist  unmitigated,  and  will  find  a 
way  to  manifest  themselves  when  they  meet  with  their 
appropriate  objects.  But  it  is  not  everything  called  Chris- 
tianity that  the  world  hates  ;  it  is  the  Christianity  of  the 
New  Testament.  It  is  not  the  name,  it  is  the  thing.  There 
is  much  that  is  called  Christianity  which  the  world  does  not 
at  all  dislike ;  it  is  its  own  Avork.  There  are  many  called 
Christians  who  are  of  the  world,  and  the  world  loves  them. 
A  woe  is  denounced  on  the  Christian  man  of  whom  all  men 
speak  well ;  and  if  we  have  in  no  way  incurred  the  hatred 
of  an  ungodly  world,  we  have  reason  to  fear,  that  though 
we  have  the  name,  we  have  not  the  thing.  It  is  a  faithful 
saying,  "Every  one  who  will  live  godly  must  suffer  per- 
secution." We  are  not  to  court  persecution  :  if  we  are 
consistent  Christians,  we  will  not  need  to  do  so.  It  will 
come  of  its  own  accord.  The  world  will  be  consistent  in 
its  hatred,  if  Christians  are  but  consistent  in  their  pro- 
fession  and  conduct.     Let  us  take   care  that  we  do   not 


154  DIRECTORY  UNDER  SUFFERINGS.  [DISC.  XX. 

sinfully  sliun  it.  Let  us  hold  fast  the  faith  and  profession 
of  the  gospel,  to  whatever  privations  and  sufferings  this 
may  expose  us.  Let  us  part  with  everything  rather  than 
the  Saviour  and  his  truth,  the  testimony  of  a  good  con- 
science, and  the  hope,  through  grace,  of  rejoicing  with 
exceeding  joy  at  the  appearing  of  his  glory  ;  let  us  show 
how  highly  we  value  him  and  his  gospel,  by  the  cheerful- 
ness with  which  we  submit  to  such  trials  as  attachment  to 
them  may  bring  on  us. 

III.    BE  NOT  ASHAMED  OF  YOUR  SUFFERINGS. 

The  third  direction  given  by  the  apostle  to  his  persecuted 
brethren  is.  Be  not  ashamed  of  your  sufferings  in  the  cause 
of  Christ.  "  Let  none  of  you  suffer  as  a  murderer,  or  as  a 
thief,  or  as  an  evil-doer,  or  as  a  busybody  in  other  men's 
matters.  Yet  if  any  man  suffer  as  a  Christian,  let  him  not 
be  ashamed ;  but  let  him  glorify  God  on  this  behalf." 

The  apostle  proceeds  on  the  principle,  that  there  are 
sufferings  which  are  indeed  disgraceful ;  that  it  is  a  possible 
thing  that  Christians  may  expose  themselves  to  such  suffer- 
ings, which  in  their  case  must  be  doubly  disgraceful ;  that 
it  is  the  duty  of  Christians  carefully  to  guard  against  ren- 
dering themselves  liable  to  such  sufferings ;  that  there  are 
sufferings  to  which  Christians  may  be  exposed,  merely  be- 
cause they  are  Christians,  merely  because  they  profess  the 
faith,  obey  the  laws,  observe  the  institutions  of  Christ ; 
and  that  such  sufferings,  however  disgraceful  in  their  own 
nature,  and  in  the  estimation  of  men,  are  no  proper  ground 
of  shame  to  those  who  meet  with  them ;  but,  on  the  con- 
trary, should  be  subjects  of  gloriation  and  thanksgiving 
to  God. 

When  suffering  is  just  punishment,  it  is  always  dis- 
graceful.    Crime   in  all   its   forms   is  a  shameful   thing, 


PART  III.]  BE  NOT  ASHAMED  OF  THEM.  155 

something  base  and  unworthy ;  and  so  must  punishment 
be,  which  proclaims  the  man  a  criminal,  which  at  once 
publishes  the  fact  that  he  has  been  guilty,  and  brands  him 
with  public  reprobation  on  account  of  his  guilt.  It  is 
shameful  to  commit  murder,  and  therefore  it  is  shameful  to 
suffer  as  a  murderer.  It  is  shameful  to  commit  theft,  and 
therefore  it  is  shameful  to  suffer  as  a  thief.  It  is  shame- 
ful to  violate  any  law  of  man  established  by  competent 
authority,  which  is  not  opposed  to  the  law  of  God,  that  is, 
to  be  an  evil-doer,  a  malefactor  in  the  eye  of  the  law ;  and 
therefore  it  is  shameful  to  be  punished  for  such  a  violation 
as  an  evil-doer  or  malefactor.  When  such  punishments 
have  been  incurred,  the  person  subjected  to  them  ought  to 
be  ashamed ;  and  when  they  are  not  felt  to  be  shameful  by 
the  criminal,  it  is  a  proof  of  most  deplorable  obtuseness  of 
mor.al  apprehension  and  feeling. 

Nor  are  sufferings  which  are  the  punishment  of  violation 
of  positive  public  law  the  only  sufferings  which  are  of  a 
shameful  kind.  All  suffering  which  is  the  effect  of  im- 
proper conduct  is  shameful,  just  in  proportion  as  the  con- 
duct which  has  produced  it  is  shameful.  There  are  many 
very  improper  acts  or  habits  which  are  not,  and  cannot  be, 
the  subject  of  public  law,  lying  beyond  or  below  its  sphere, 
which  yet  naturally  bring  down  on  those  characterized  by 
them  appropriate,  and  it  may  be  severe,  punishment.  For 
example,  "  the  busybody  in  other  men's  matters,"  whether 
his  intrusive  interference  originate  in  mere  impertinent 
curiosity  or  in  worse  motives,  is  likely  to  suff'er  by  exclusion 
from  respectable  society,  by  general  contempt,  and  it  may 
be  in  even  more  substantial  forms ;  and  his  sufferings, 
whatever  they  may  be,  are  disgraceful  sufferings — suffer- 
ings of  which  he  ought  to  be  ashamed. 

By  many  interpreters,  I  am  aware  that  the  "  busybody" 
here  is  considered  as  equivalent  to  "  the  seditious  person," 


156  DIRECTORY  UNDER  SUFFERINGS.  [DISC.  XX. 

who  in  a  private  station  plots  against  the  existing;  order  of 
societj,  medcUing  with  things  too  high  for  him,  and  who 
consequently  is  naturally  enough  classed  along  with  the 
murderer  and  the  thief,  as  drawing  down  on  himself 
deserved  punishment  from  the  hand  of  violated  law ;  but  I 
think  it  more  likely  that  the  apostle  meant  to  warn  Chris- 
tians against  exposing  themselves,  not  only  to  shameful 
suffering  as  violators  of  public  law,  but  to  shameful  suffer- 
ing originating  in  impropriety  of  behaviour  of  whatever 
kind.^ 

It  may  seem  strange  that  the  apostle  should  caution 
those  to  whom  he  wrote,  and  whom  he  had  represented  as 
"  elect  according  to  the  foreknowledge  of  God  the  Father, 
through  sanctification  of  the  Spirit,  unto  obedience  and 
sprinkling  of  the  blood  of  Jesus  Christ ;  as  begotten  again 
to  a  living  hope ;  as  the  heirs  of  an  incorruptible,  undefiled, 
unfading  inheritance,  reserved  in  heaven  for  them,"  to 
which  they  were  "  kept  by  the  power  of  God  through 
faith;"  as  having  "tasted  that  the  Lord  is  gracious;"  as 
"  a  chosen  generation,  a  royal  priesthood,  a  holy  nation  ; " — 
it  may  seem  strange  that  he  should  have  thought  it  needful 
to  caution  such  persons  against  exposing  themselves  to  the 
penalties  which  the  law  denounces  against  theft  and  murder, 
or  even  to  the  minor  punishments  society  inflicts  on  the 
pragmatical  intermeddler. 

It  may  be  supposed  that  the  apostle  meant  not  so  much 
to  warn  those  to  whom  he  wrote  against  murder,  theft,  and 
impertinent  intrusion  in  other  men's  matters,  as  against 
affording  even  the  shadow  of  an  occasion  for  their  being 
punished  for  these  or  similar  crimes  and  improprieties  by 
their  enemies,  who  were  disposed  to  speak  evil  of  them,  and 
to  punish  them  as  malefactors.  "  By  well-doing  they  were 
to  seek  to  put  to  silence  the  ignorance  of  foolish  men  ; "  and 
1  See  note  A. 


PART  III.J  BE  NOT  ASHAMED  OF  THEM.  157 

their  conduct  was  to  be  so  harmless,  and  blameless,  and  cir- 
cumspect, that  when  charged  before  the  tribunals  with  such 
crimes,  their  adversaries  should  find  it  impossible  to  substan- 
tiate their  charge,  and  difficult  even  to  give  anything  like 
plausibility  to  it ;  so  that  the  result  might  be,  that,  instead 
of  their  being  visited  with  the  shameful  punishment  of 
murderers  and  thieves,  "  they  who  spoke  evil  of  them  as  of 
evil-doers,  should  be  made  ashamed  of  falsely  accusing  their 
good  conversation  in  Christ ; "  or  if  their  enemies,  as  they 
often  did,  should,  without  evidence  and  against  evidence, 
proceed  to  punish  them,  that  it  might  be  made  manifest  to 
all  that  it  was  not  for  crimes  which  might  be  alleged,  but 
which  had  not,  could  not  be,  proved  against  them,  but 
simply  for  their  being  Christians,  that  they  were  punished.^ 
This,  however,  is  not  by  any  means  the  only  passage  in 
which  Christians  are  cautioned  against  very  gross  sins. 
Exhortations  to  Christians,  in  the  apostolic  epistles,  not  only 
proceed  on  the  principle  that  there  were  false  professors  iu 
the  primitive  churches,  who  might  discredit  their  profession 
by  unholy  conduct,  but  on  the  principle  that  in  the  truly 
converted  man,  that  is,  "  in  his  flesh,  dwelleth  no  good 
thing ; "  and  that,  but  for  the  restraining  influence  of  the 
Spirit  and  providence  of  God,  there  is  scarcely  any  viola- 
tion of  the  divine  law  into  which  remaining  depravity, 
stimulated  into  active  operation  by  powerful  temptation, 
may  not  hurry  him.  To  use  the  words  of  an  old  Scottish 
expositor,  "  Except  Christians  employ  Christ's  Spirit  to 
apply  that  virtue  which  he  hath  purchased  by  his  death,  for 
the  changing  of  their  nature,  and  mortifying  of  the  love  of 
sin  in  their  hearts,  and  study  watchfulness  in  their  carriage, 

^  It  was  a  glorious  tiling  for  Christiauity  when  its  apologists  could 
appeal  to  the  heathen,  and  say,  "De  vestro  numero  career  exa;stuat. 
Christianus  ibi  nuUus,  nisi  aut  reus  suse  religionis  aut  profugus. " — ■ 
MiNUCius  Felix. 


158  DIRECTORY  UNDER  SUFFERINGS.  [DISC.  XX. 

they  will  readily  break  out  in  those  abominations  for  which 
even  heathens  would  justly  put  them  to  suffer :  for  this 
direction  of  the  apostle's  does  import,  that  except  Christians 
did  watch  and  pray,  and  make  use  of  Christ's  death  for 
mortification  of  sin  within  them,  to  which  duties  he  had 
stirred  them  up  before,  they  were  in  hazard  to  break  out  in 
the  sins  here  mentioned,  and  so  be  put  to  suffer  as  mur- 
derers, thieves,  evil-doers,  and  busybodies  in  other  men's 
matters."  ^ 

These  practices  referred  to  by  the  apostle  were  shameful 
in  themselves,  shameful  by  whomsoever  committed ;  but  it 
is  obvious  they  were  peculiarly  shameful  in  Christians.  It 
was  disgraceful  for  a  heathen  to  suffer  for  such  causes; 
what,  then,  must  it  have  been  for  a  Christian  thus  to 
suffer  ?  Sin  is  hateful  in  every  man,  additionally  hateful 
in  a  professor  of  Christianity ;  nowhere  so  hateful  as  in  the 
heart  and  life  of  a  child  of  God.  It  is  not  wonderful,  then, 
that  the  apostle  should  say,  "  Let  none  of  you  suffer  as  a 
murderer,  or  as  a  thief,  or  as  an  evil-doer,  or  as  a  busybody 
in  otlier  men's  matters."  By  exposing  himself  to  punish- 
ment for  the  violation  of  the  laws,  a  Christian  w^ould  draw 
down  discredit  not  only  on  his  own  character,  but  on  the 
Christian  cause,  giving  occasion  to  the  enemies  of  the  Lord 
to  blaspheme.  He  would  destroy  his  own  inward  peace, 
and,  by  making  shipwreck  of  character,  render  it  scarcely 
possible  that  he  should  ever  have  it  in  his  power  to  repair 
in  any  good  measure  the  injury  he  had  done  to  the 
worthy  name.^ 

It  ill  becomes  such  persons  to  complain  of  their  suffer- 
ings, but  it  well  becomes  them  to  be  ashamed  of  them,  and 
especially  to  be  ashamed  of  their  cause.  Nothing  is  more 
deplorable  than  to  find  men  bearing  the  name  of  Christ, 
after  involving  themselves  in  suffering  by  their  imprudence 
1  Nisbet.  -  "Martyrem  facit  non  pceiia  sed  causa." — Augustin. 


PART  III.]  BE  NOT  ASHAMED  OF  THEM.  159 

and  sin,  exposing  themselves  to  the  penalties  of  the  law,  or 
drawing  down  odium  on  themselves  and  reproach  on  religion, 
by  their  conceited  officiousness  or  impertinent  intermeddling; 
instead  of  being  ashamed  of  their  conduct,  actually  taking 
credit  for  it ;  pleasing  themselves  with  the  thought  that 
they  are  persecuted  for  righteousness'  sake,  when  they  are 
only  suffering  for  their  faults ;  and  imputing  that  to  the 
malice  of  their  enemies  which  is  but  the  natural  result  of 
their  own  folly  and  wickedness.  It  becomes  such  persons 
to  blush  and  weep,  to  retire  as  much  as  may  be  from  the 
public  gaze,  and  "  to  walk  softly  all  their  years." 

But  however  carefully  and  successfully  the  primitive 
Christians  might  avoid  all  such  disgraceful  sufferings,  dis- 
creditable to  themselves  and  injurious  to  their  religion, 
sufferings  they  were  not  likely  to  escape — sufferings  of 
another  kind.  Though  they  should  violate  no  civil  law 
which  was  not  in  direct  opposition  to  the  divine  law  ;  though 
they  should  "  live  quiet  and  peaceable  lives,"  minding  their 
own  business,  and  not  intermeddling  with  what  did  not 
concern  them ;  and  though  they  should  act  so  circumspectly 
that  even  their  enemies,  watching  for  their  halting,  could 
find  nothing  which  they  could  plausibly  represent  as  a 
violation  of  law,  or  an  undue  interference  with  the  affairs 
of  others ;  yet  still  they  were  likely,  ay,  they  were  sure,  to 
meet  with  sufferings — it  might  be  very  severe  sufferinofs  ; 
sufferings  in  their  external  form  of  a  very  shameful  and 
degrading  character — just  because  they  were  Christians  ;  ^ 
just  because  they  made  a  consistent  profession  of  the  faith 
of  Christ,  acknowledging  him  as  tlieir  teacher  and  Lord, 
observing  his  institutions  and  obeying  his  laws.  Though, 
as  in  the  case  of  Daniel,  no  occasion  might  be  found  against 
them  on  other  grounds,  an  occasion  would  be  found  against 
them  "  concerning  the  law  of  their  God."  ^ 

1  See  note  B.  2  pj^^  y{^  ^ 


160  DIRECTORY  UNDER  SUFFERINGS.  [DISC.  XX. 

Such  were  the  sufferings  inflicted  on  the  apostles  and 
first  teachers  and  professors  of  Christianity,  of  which  we 
have  a  record  in  the  Acts  of  the  Apostles ;  sufferings  for 
the  infliction  of  which,  in  some  cases,  no  cause  was  even 
alleged  but  that  they  were  Christians  ;  and  in  others  where, 
though  other  causes  were  alleged,  this  was  indeed  the  true 
reason.  The  time  was  come  of  which  our  Lord  had 
spoken,  when  his  followers  were  to  be  "  hated  by  all 
nations"  ^ — both  by  the  Jews  and  the  Gentiles — "  for  his 
name's  sake,"  just  because  they  were  Christians.^  To  be  a 
Christian,  was  a  sufficient  reason  with  the  Jews  why  a  man 
should  be  cast  out  of  the  synagogue ;  and  with  the  Romans, 
why  he  should  be  treated  as  a  criminal.  At  a  somewhat 
later  period  we  find  an  imperial  edict,  that  of  Trajan,  which 
seems  to  have  been  intended  rather  to  mitigate  the  severity 
of  the  treatment  to  which  Christians,  as  Christians,  had 
been  exposed,  requiring  that,  though  Christians  were  not  to 
be  officially  sought  after,  such  as  were  accused  and  con- 
victed of  an  adherence  to  Christianity  were  to  be  put  to 
death ;  ^  their  Christianity,  apart  from  everything  else, 
being  considered  as  a  capital  offence. 

And  if  thus,  as  Christians,  they  were  exposed  to  suffer- 
ings so  serious  in  the  shape  of  legal  inflictions,  it  is  quite 
plain  that,  in  the  ordinary  intercourse  of  life,  they  must 
have  been  liable  to  an  endless  variety  of  annoyances,  living 
in  the-  midst  of  men  who,  -sA-hether  Jews  or  heathens, 
regarded  their  religion  with  sentiments  of  abhorrence  and 
contempt.  These  sufferings  were  in  many  cases,  in  their 
own  nature,  of  a  degrading  character.  Christians  were,  as 
the  apostle  expresses  it,  "  shamefully  entreated."  The  pun- 
ishments inflicted  were  such  as  were  commonly  inflicted  on 
the  vilest  criminals,  on  felons  and  slaves.  Stripes  and  the 
cross,  punishments  which  could  be  legally  inflicted  on  no 

1  Matt.  xxiv.  9.  2  gge  note  C.  s  Plinii  Epp.  ix.  97,  98. 


PART  III.]  BE  NOT  ASHAMED  OF  THEM.  161 

Roman  citizen,  fell  to  the  lot  of  many  of  them,  from  the 
hands  of  the  magistrate ;  and  from  the  great  body  of  their 
fellow-citizens  they  received  "  cruel  mockings ;"  their  names 
were  cast  out  as  evil,  and  they  were  treated  by  them  "  as 
the  filth  of  the  world,  and  the  offscouring  of  all  things."  ^ 

But  of  sufferino;s  of  this  kind,  however  io-nominious  in 
their  own  character,  however  fitted  to  express  the  contempt 
of  those  who  inflicted  them,  and  excite  the  shame  of  those 
who  endured  them,  they  were  not  to  be  ashamed.  They 
were  not  to  count  them  really  dishonourable.  In  truth, 
they  were  not.  The  most  ignominious  treatment,  when  it 
is  unmerited,  reflects  dishonour  not  on  him  who  innocently 
endures,  but  on  him  who  unjustly  inflicts  it.  To  profess 
what  we  believe  to  be  true,  and  to  do  what  we  believe  to 
be  right,  to  refuse  to  give  either  explicit  or  tacit  approbation 
of  what  we  account  false  and  wrong,  to  acknowledge  obli- 
gations to  a  divine  benefactor  for  favours  of  inestimable 
value,  in  the  manner  which  that  divine  benefactor  enjoins, 
can  never  be  dishonourable.  No  contumely  poured  on 
Christians  could  in  the  slightest  degree  affect  the  truth  or 
excellence  of  Christ's  doctrine  and  law;  nor,  supposing  the 
divine  origin  of  these,  could  such  calumnies  for  a  moment 
occasion  any  reasonable  doubt  as  to  the  wisdom  and  recti- 
tude of  the  conduct  of  those  who  had  embraced  that  doc- 
trine and  submitted  to  that  law.  The  disgrace  plainly  lay 
with  the  authors,  not  with  the  victims,  of  such  shameful 
oppression  and  cruelty.  The  persecutor,  not  the  persecuted, 
had  reason  to  be  ashamed  of  the  sufferings  inflicted  on 
Christians  as  Christians. 

But  the   apostle  exhorts  the  persecuted   Christians  not 
only  not  to  be  ashamed  of  such  sufferings,  but  to  "  glorify 
God  on  this  behalf."     They  are   to   consider  these  igno- 
minious sufferings  as  indeed  an  honour  and  a  privilege,  and 
1  Heb.  xi,  3G  ;  1  Cor.  iv.  13. 

VOL.  III.  L 


162  DIRECTORY  UNDER  SUFFERINGS.  [DISC.  XX. 

they  are  to  thank  God  for  them,  and  while  under  them  to 
act  such  a  part  as  will  glorify  him  ;  their  sense  of  the 
honour  done  to  them  being  expressed  not  in  words  only, 
but  in  cheerful  submission  to  these  sufferings,  and  in  patient 
and  heroic  endurance  of  them.  They  are  to  reckon  it  a 
proper  subject  of  thanksgiving,  that  to  them  "it  is  given, 
on  behalf  of  Christ  Jesus,  not  only  to  believe  but  to  suffer 
for  his  sake,"  and  to  "  rejoice  that  they  are  counted  worthy 
to  suffer  shame  for  his  name."  They  should  account  it  a 
token  of  the  confidence  reposed  in  them  by  their  divine 
Leader,  when  he  places  them,  as  it  were,  in  the  fore  raidcs  in 
the  battle,  and  calls  on  them  to  "  suffer  great  things  for  his 
name's  sake."  They  should  rejoice  in  the  opportunity  thus 
given  them  of  showing  their  gratitude  to  him  who  for  them 
"  endured  the  cross  and  despised  the  shame ;"  who,  in  the 
cause  of  their  salvation,  "  gave  his  back  to  the  smiters,  and 
his  cheeks  to  them  that  plucked  off  the  hair,  hid  not  his 
face  from  shame  and  spitting,  but  set  his  face  as  a  flint," 
and  amid  all  contumelies  "held  fast  the  confidence  and 
rejoicing  of  his  hope,"  that  he  should  not  ultimately  be 
ashamed.^ 

They  should  be  thankful  for  these  sufferings,  as  fitted  to 
promote  their  personal  spiritual  improvement  both  in  holi- 
ness and  in  comfort ;  such  "  tribulations  working  patience" 
that  is,  leading  to  perseverance,  not  to  apostasy ;  such 
"patience  working  experience,"  that  is,  such  perseverance 
leading  to  proof  both  of  the  reality  and  the  strength  of  the 
principles  of  the  new  life  ;  and  such  "  experience  working 
hope," — such  proof  strengthening  the  hope  of  eternal  life, 
by  showing  that  it  is  indeed  founded  on  the  gospel  really 
believed,  and  will  prove  a  hope  which  shall  never  make 
ashamed.^    Well  may  Christians  glory  in  such  tribulations — 

1  Acts  V.  41  ;  Phil.  i.  29  ;  Acts  ix.  16  ;  Heb.  xii.  2  ;  Isa.  1.  6,  7. 

2  Eom.  V.  3-5. 


PART  III.]  BE  NOT  ASHAMED  OF  THEM.  163 

tribulations  fitted  and  intended  to  have,  secured  of  having, 
such  glorious  results. 

Still  further,  and  finally,  they  should  glorify  God  on 
account  of  such  sufferings,  because  their  tendency,  when 
endured  in  the  right  spirit,  was  greatly  to  advance  the  cause 
of  Christ.  "The  blood  of  the  martyrs  is  the  seed  of  the 
Church."  Persecution  very  generally  "has  fallen  out"  to  the 
furtherance  of  the  gospel.  The  patient,  joyful  endurance 
of  most  cruel  and  contumelious  wrongs  by  Paul  and  Silas, 
probably  was  highly  influential  in  producing  the  conversion 
of  the  Philippian  jailor.  The  faith  and  patience  of  the 
martyrs  amid  their  sufferings,  more  impressively  than  all 
their  eloquence,  declared  the  power  of  divine  grace  and  the 
efficacy  of  the  gospel;  made  the  torturers  ashamed,  and 
induced  beholders  to  take  share  with  those  who  were 
tortured.  This  consideration  had  great  influence  on  Paul's 
mind,  enabling  him  to  glory  in  his  sufferings  as  a  Christian, 
and  to  glorify  God  on  their  behalf.  "  I  rejoice  in  my 
sufferings  for  you,"  says  he  to  the  Colossians,  "  and  fill  up 
that  which  is  behind  of  the  afflictions  of  Christ  in  my  flesh 
for  his  body's  sake,  which  is  the  Church  ;"  and  in  the  Epistle 
to  Timothy,  "I  endure^^ — patiently,  joyfully  suffer — "all 
things  for  the  elect's  sake,  that  they  may  also  obtain  the 
salvation  that  is  in  Christ,  with  eternal  glory."  ^ 

Christians  in  every  country  and  in  every  age  are  bound 
to  regulate  themselves  by  the  direction  we  have  been  en- 
deavourina;  to  illustrate.  From  a  regard  to  the  honour  of 
their  religion  and  their  Saviour,  they  are  bound  carefully 
to  avoid  everything  which  may  justly  bring  on  them  con- 
tempt or  punishment,  knowing  that  Christ  has  entrusted 
the  reputation  of  his  religion  to  their  care  ;  and  that  its 
character  is  so  identified  with  theirs,  that  the  one  cannot  be 
injured  without  affecting  the  other ;  while  at  the  same  time 

1  Col.  i.  24 ;  2  Tim.  ii.  10. 


164  DIRECTORY  UNDER  SUFFERINGS.  [DISC.  XX. 

they  are  never,  under  the  influence  of  a  false  shame,  to 
shrink  from  suffering  for  professing  the  faith  and  obeying 
the  law  of  their  Lord,  however  ignominious  a  form  that 
suffering  may  wear,  ever  bearing  in  mind  his  impressive 
declaration,  "  Whosoever  shall  be  ashamed  of  me  and  my 
words  in  this  adulterous  and  sinful  generation,  of-  him  also 
shall  the  Son  of  man  be  ashamed,  when  he  cometh  in  the 
glory  of  his  Father  with  the  holy  angels."  "  Whosoever 
shall  confess  me  before  men,  him  will  I  confess  also  before 
my  Father  and  the  holy  angels."^  He  who  counts  these 
faithful  sayings,  will  not  be  ashamed  of  suffering  as  a 
Christian.  He  will  be  disposed  to  say  with  the  apostle,  "  I 
suffer  trouble  as  an  evil-doer,  even  unto  bonds:"  "never- 
theless I  am  not  ashamed ;  for  I  know  whom  I  have  be- 
lieved, and  am  persuaded  that  he  is  able  to  keep  that  which 
I  have  committed  unto  him  against  that  day." 

IV.   PEESEVERING  IN  WELL-DOING,  COMMIT  YOUR  SOULS 
TO  GOD  UNDER  SUFFERINGS. 

The  last  direction  which  the  apostle  gives  to  persecuted 
Christians  is,  "  Persevering  in  well-doing,  commit  the  keep- 
ing of  your  souls  to  God  under  your  sufferings."  "  For 
the  time  is  come  when  judgment  must  begin  at  the  house 
of  God  :  and  if  it  first  begin  at  us,  what  shall  the  end  be  of 
them  that  obey  not  the  gospel  of  God  ?  And  if  the  right- 
eous scarcely  be  saved,  where  shall  the  ungodly  and  the 
sinner  appear  ?  Wherefore,  let  them  that  suffer  according 
to  the  will  of  God  commit  the  keeping  of  their  souls  to  him 
in  well-doing,  as  to  a  faithful  Creator." 

A  careful  reader  will  see  that  these  three  verses  are  very 
closely  connected ;  that  the  statements  in  the  17tli  and 
18th  verses  are   the  foundation  on  which  the  directions 

1  Matt.  X.  32  ;  Luke  xii.  8. 


PART  IV.]  COMMIT  YOUR  SOULS  TO  GOD  UNDER  THEM.     165 

in  the  19tli  are  based,  or  tlie  motives  by  which  they  are 
enforced.  The  statement  is  twofold :  Severe  afflictions 
are  awaiting  the  professors  of  the  faith  of  Christ,  and  still 
more  tremendous  evils  ai'e  impending  over  those  who  be- 
lieve not  the  gospel,  or  who  apostatize  from  the  faith.  And 
the  direction  is  twofold  also  :  Commit  your  souls  to  God, 
that  ye  may  be  enabled  to  sustain  those  severe  afflictions ; 
and  do  this  in  well-doing,  in  a  constant  continuance  in 
well-doing,  in  a  perseverance  in  the  faith,  profession,  and 
practice  of  Christianity,  that  you  may  escape  those  tremen- 
dous evils.  Such  seems  the  connection  of  the  apostle's 
thoughts. 

"  The  time  is  come  when  judgment  must  begin  at  the 
house  of  God ;  a  time  in  which  the  righteous  shall  scarcely 
be  saved  :  therefore,  let  them  who  suffer  by  the  will  of  God 
commit  the  keeping  of  their  souls  to  him,  as  to  a  faithful 
Creator."  The  "house  of  God,"  in  Old  Testament  lan- 
guage, would  signify  either  the  temple  of  Jerusalem ;  or — 
understanding  the  word  figuratively  as  equivalent  to  family, 
a  sense  in  which  it  is  so  often  used — the  Israelitish  people. 
In  the  language  of  the  New  Testament,  it  signifies  the 
Christian  Church,  Christians.  "Know  ye  not,"  says  the 
apostle,  "that  ye  are  the  temple  of  God?"  "His  house 
are  we,  if  we  hold  fast  the  confidence  and  the  rejoicing 
of  the  hope  stedfast  to  the  end."  It  denotes  them  who 
obey  the  gospel  of  Christ,  as  contradistinguished  from 
the  unbelievers  or  the  apostates,  who  do  not  obey  the 
gospel  of  Christ.^  "  The  righteous"  is  obviously  just  an- 
other appellation  for  the  same  individuals,  and  describes 
tlieir  character  as  opposed  to  the  wicked,  "  the  ungodly, 
and  the  sinner."  The  words  then  signify  :  '  A  period  is 
arrived,  or  is  just  at  hand,  when  a  very  severe  trial  of 
Christians,  a  trial  of  some  continuance,  is  about  to  com- 
1  1  Cor.  iii.  16  ;  Heb.  iii.  6. 


166  DIRECTOEY  UNDER  SUFFERINGS.  [DISC.  XX. 

mence ;   when  judgment,  or  rather  the  judgment/  shall 
begin  at  the  house  of  God.'^ 

There  seems  here  a  reference  to  a  particular  judgment 
or  trial,  that  the  primitive  Christians  had  reason  to  expect. 
When  we  consider  that  this  epistle  was  written  within  a 
short  time  of  the  commencement  of  that  awful  scene  of 
judgment  which  terminated  in  the  destruction  of  the  eccle- 
siastical and  civil  polity  of  the  Jews,  and  which  our  Lord 
had  so  minutely  predicted,  we  can  scarcely  doubt  of  the 
reference  of  the  apostle's  expression.  After  having  specified 
wars  and  rumours  of  wars,  famines,  pestilences,  and  earth- 
quakes, as  symptoms  of  "the  beginning  of  sorrows,"  our  Lord 
adds,  "  Then  shall  they  deliver  you  up  to  be  afflicted,  and 
shall  kill  you  :  and  ye  shall  be  hated  of  all  nations  for  my 
name's  sake.  They  shall  deliver  you  up  to  councils  and  to 
synagogues,  and  ye  shall  be  beaten  ;  and  ye  shall  be  brought 
before  rulers  and  kings  for  my  sake  :  Ye  shall  be  betrayed 
both  by  parents,  and  brethren,  and  kinsfolk,  and  friends  ;  and 
some  of  you  shall  they  cause  to  be  put  to  death.  And  then 
many  shall  be  offended,  and  shall  betray  one  another,  and 
shall  hate  one  another.  And  many  false  prophets  shall 
rise,  and  deceive  many.  And  because  iniquity  shall  abound, 
the  love  of  many  shall  wax  cold  :  but  he  that  shall  endure 
to  the  end  shall  be  saved.  Except  the  Lord  had  shortened 
those  days,  no  flesh  should  be  saved ;  but  for  the  elect's 
sake,  whom  he  hath  chosen,  he  hath  shortened  the  days."^ 

^  Ta  x.p'if/.a., 

2  There  seems  here  an  allusion  to  Ezek.  ix.  6,  "Slay  utterly  old  and 
young;  and  berjin  at  mij  sanctiiary."  Green,  in  Ms  Gram,  of  the  New 
Testament,  would  place  the  eitt;,  which  must  be  supplied,  not  before  o 
Kccipo;,  but  before  aero  rod  o'Ikou  tou  Qiou,  and  would  translate,  "for  the 
season  of  the  commencement  of  judgment  is  from  the  house  of  God."  It 
was  a  common  opinion  among  the  Jews,  that  national  punishments  always 
commence  with  the  just  and  godly. — See  Schcetgen  and  Wetstein. 

3  Matt.  xxiv.  9-13,  22. 


PART  IV.]     COMMIT  YOUR  SOULS  TO  GOD  UNDER  THEM.  167 

This  is  the  judgment  which,  though  to  fall  most  heavily 
on  the  holy  land,  was  plainly  to  extend  to  wherever  Jews 
and  Christians  were  to  be  found,  "  for  where  the  carcase 
was,  there  were  the  eagles  to  be  gathered  together ;"  which 
was  to  begin  at  the  house  of  God,  and  which  was  to  be  so 
severe,  that  the  "  righteous  should  scarcely,"  that  is,  not 
without  difficulty,  "  be  saved."  They  only  who  stood  the 
trial  should  be  saved,  and  many  would  not  stand  the  trial. 
All  the  truly  righteous  should  be  saved  ;  but  many  who 
seemed  to  be  righteous,  many  who  thought  themselves  to 
be  righteous,  would  not  endure  to  the  end,  and  so  should 
not  be  saved ;  and  the  righteous  themselves  should  be  saved, 
not  without  much  struggle,  exertion,  suffering — "  saved  as 
by  fire."  Some  have  supposed  the  reference  to  be  to  the 
Neronian  persecutions,  which  by  a  few  years  preceded  the 
calamities  connected  with  the  Jewish  wars  and  the  destruc- 
tion of  Jerusalem. 

Now,  on  entering  on  this  scene  of  severe  trial,  they  wdio 
were  to  "  suffer  according  to  the  will  of  God" — a  phrase 
marking  the  origin  of  their  sufferings  rather  than  the 
manner  in  which  they  were  sustained ;  nearly  equivalent 
to,  '  on  account  of  the  divine  will,'  that  is,  on  account  of 
their  doing  the  divine  will — are  enjoined  to  "  commit  the 
keeping  of  their  souls  to  God,  as  to  a  faithful  Creator." 
To  commit  their  souls,  that  is,  themselves,  into  the  hands 
of  God,  to  be  kept  by  him,  is  just  under  a  deep  sense  of 
their  own  incapacity  to  meet  and  sustain  the  trial  in  a  way 
glorifying  to  God  and  advantageous  to  themselves — to  resign 
themselves  entirely  to  the  guidance  of  God's  providence, 
and  word,  and  Spirit,  in  the  expectation  that  he  will  make 
their  duty  obvious  to  them  in  circumstances  of  doubt  and 
perplexity ;  and,  when  their  duty  is  made  plain  to  them, 
enable  them  at  all  hazards  to  perform  it,  trusting  not  to 
their  own  understanding,  but  to  the  divine  wisdom ;  relying 


168  DIRECTORY  UNDER  SUFFERINGS.  [DISC.  XX. 

not  on  their  own  energies,  bnt  on  tlie  power  of  God ; 
trusting  that  he  will  indeed  keep  that  which  they  commit 
to  him  ;  protect  them  from  all  real  evil ;  allow  them  to  be 
exposed  to  no  unnecessary,  no  useless  suffering ;  lay  on  them 
no  load  of  labour  or  suffering  which  he  will  not  enable  them 
to  sustain  ;  "  not  suffer  them  to  be  tried  above  what  they 
are  able  to  bear,  but  with  the  temptation  give  them  a  way 
of  escape  ;"  "  deliver  them  from  every  evil  work,  and  pre- 
serve them  unto  his  heavenly  kingdom."^ 

This  is  obviously  the  general  meaning ;  but  there  is  some- 
thing peculiar  and  emphatic  in  the  phrase,  "  Commit  the 
keeping  of  your  souls  to  him."  They  were  to  commit  the 
care  of  their  bodies,  their  lives,  their  reputation,  their  pro- 
perty, their  relations,  to  God,  with  a  distinct  understanding 
that  they  may  be  called  on  by  him  to  part  with  them  all ; 
and  well  pleased  to  part  with  them  all,  in  the  assurance  that 
their  souls  are  safe  in  his  keeping — safe  in  life,  safe  in  death, 
safe  for  ever, — "  bound  in  the  bundle  of  life^with  the  Lord 
their  God."- 

He  who  thus  commits  the  keeping  of  his  soul  to  God,  is 
ready  for  all  trials,  however  severe.  Such  a  person  will 
be  "  anxious  about  nothing  ;"  and  while  "  in  everything,  by 
prayer  and  supplication,  he  makes  his  requests  known  to 
God,"  his  need  shall  be  supplied  according  to  God's  glorious 
riches  ;  and  "  the  peace  of  God,  which  passeth  all  under- 
standing, shall  keep  his  heart  and  mind  through  Christ 
Jesus."  ^ 

The  persecuted  Christians  are  encouraged  thus  to  commit 
the  keeping  of  their  souls  to  God,  by  the  consideration  that 
he  is  "  a  faithful  Creator."  He  is  their  Creator.  He  not 
only  is  the  "  Father  of  their  spirits"  and  the  former  of  their 
bodies,  as  he  is  of  the  spirits  and  bodies  of  all  men,  but  He 
has  "  of  his  own  will  begotten  them  by  the  word  of  truth, 
1  2  Tim.  iv.  IS.  ~  1  Sam.  xxv.  29.  ^  y\^]x.  iv.  6,  7. 


PART  IV. J  COMMIT  YOUR  SOULS  TO  GOD  UNDER  THEM.     169 

through  the  resurrection  of  Christ  Jesus  from  the  dead,  so 
that  they  are  a  kind  of  first-fruits  of  his  creatures."  They 
are  not  only  his  creatures,  but  his  "  new  creatures," — his 
"  workmanship  created  anew  unto  good  works."  ^  To  whom 
should  they  commit  the  keeping  of  their  souls  but  to  liim  ? 
They  are  his  property ;  more  his  than  their  own.  He  is  able 
to  take  care  of  them.  He  who  made  them  can  preserve 
them.  Conservation  does  not  require  greater  power  than 
creation.  And  he  is  disposed  to  take  care  of  them.  He 
hates  none  of  his  creatures  ;  he  loves  all  his  new  creatures 
with  a  peculiar,  an  unchangeable,  an  eternal  love.  Look- 
ing at  him  as  their  Creator,  they  may  well  be  persuaded 
that  he  is  able  and  that  he  is  willing  to  keep  that  which,  in 
obedience  to  his  own  command,  they  have  committed  to  him. 
And  then  he  is  not  only  a  Creator,  but  "  a  faithful  Crea- 
tor."^ He  is  faithful  to  fulfil  the  expectations  of  support 
and  protection,  which  the  very  relation  of  Creator  is  fitted 
to  excite  in  the  mind  of  an  intelligent  loyal  creature.  The 
new  creature  cannot  but  have  an  expectation,  that  he  who 
has  given  it  true  life  will  preserve  it,  will  never  let  it 
perish.  This  is  an  instinct  of  the  new  nature  ;  and  "  he 
will  fulfil  the  desire  of  them  that  fear  him,  he  also  will  hear 
their  cry  and  save  them."  "The  Lord  preserveth  all  them 
that  love  him."  Besides,  he  has  given  to  them  as  his  crea- 
tures, his  new  creatures,  "  exceeding  great  and  precious 
promises."  We  will  quote  a  few  of  them  :  "  In  six  troubles 
God  shall  deliver  thee  ;  in  seven  no  evil  shall  touch  thee. 
He  shall  cover  thee  with  his  feathers,  and  under  his  wings 
shalt  thou  trust ;  he  shall  give  his  angels  charge  concerning 
thee,  to  keep  thee  in  all  thy  ways.  The  Lord  is  thy  keeper, 
the  Lord  shall  preserve  thee  from  all  evil,  the  Lord  shall 

1  Heb.  xii.  9 ;  James  i.  IS  ;  Epli.  ii.  10. 

2  "The  relation  of  Creatoi'  implies  omnipotent  love  ;  tlie  attribute  of 
faithful  eternal  love  declared  in  his  promises." — Bates. 


170  DIRECTORY  UNDER  SUFFERINGS.  [DISC.  XX. 

preserve  thy  soul.  When  thou  passest  through  the  waters, 
I  will  be  with  thee,  and  the  flood  shall  not  overflow  thee  : 
when  thou  passest  through  the  fire,  thou  shalt  not  be  burnt, 
neither  shall  the  flame  kindle  on  thee.  I  give  unto  my 
sheep  eternal  life,  and  they  shall  never  perish  ;  neither  shall 
any  one  pluck  them  out  of  my  Father's  hand.  Neither 
death,  nor  life,  nor  angels,  nor  principalities,  nor  powers, 
nor  things  present,  nor  things  to  come,  nor  height,  nor 
depth,  nor  any  other  creature,  can  separate"  those  created 
anew  in  Christ  Jesus  "  from  the  love  of  God  which  is  in 
Christ  Jesus  their  Lord."  "  Faithful  is  he  who  hath  pro- 
mised, who  also  will  do  it."  "  He  is  not  a  man,  that  he 
should  lie  ;  nor  the  son  of  man,  that  he  should  repent :  hath 
he  said  it,  and  shall  he  not  do  it  1  hath  he  promised  it, 
and  shall  he  not  make  it  good  1 "  "  All  these  promises  are 
yea,  amen,  in  Christ  Jesus,  to  the  glory  of  God  by  us."  ^ 

Nothing  but  this  committing  unreservedly  the  keeping 
of  the  soul  to  God  as  a  faithful  Creator,  could  meet  the 
exigencies  of  the  case,  and  fit  for  so  severe  and  complicated 
a  trial.  This  only  would  enable  the  persecuted  Christian 
so  to  endure  the  trial,  as  to  "  obtain  the  crown  of  life  which 
the  Lord  hath  promised  to  those  who  love  him." 

Connected  with  the  statement,  that  severe  trials  were 
awaiting  Christians,  the  apostle  makes  an  impressive  an- 
nouncement of  the  dreadful  doom  of  "  those  who  obey  not 
the  gospel  of  God."  The  beginning  of  the  judgment  was 
to  come  on  the  house  or  family  of  God  ;  the  end  of  it  on 
them  who  obey  not  the  gospel  of  God.  The  first  drops  were 
to  fall  on  the  former,  the  collected  tempest  on  the  latter  : 
the  first  were  to  be  chastened,  severely  chastened  ;  but  on 
the  last  was  to  come  "  wrath  to  the  uttermost."  The  first 
were  to  be   "  saved  as  by  fire,"   the  others  were   to  be 

^  Job  V.  19-25  ;  Ps.  xci.,  cxxi.  7,  8  ;  Isa.  xliii.  2  ;  John  x.  28-30  ;  Rom. 
viii.  38,  39  ;  1  Tliess.  v.  24;  Num.  xxiii.  19 ;  2  Cor.  i.  20. 


PART  IV.]  COMMIT  YOUR  SOULS  TO  GOD  UNDER  THEM.     171 

"  destroyed  with  an  everlasting  destruction  ;"  the  one  get- 
ting into  a  place  of  safety  with  difficulty,  the  other  finding 
no  place  of  shelter  from  the  "  fiery  indignation  which  was 
to  devour  the  adversaries"  of  God.  This  is  more  strongly 
expressed  in  the  interrogative  form  than  it  could  be  by  any 
direct  affirmation.  "  What  shall  the  end  be?  Where  shall 
they  appear?" 

It  may  be  right  to  remark  in  passing,  that  the  18th  verse 
is  a  quotation  from  the  Greek  version  of  the  31  st  verse  of 
the  eleventh  chapter  of  the  book  of  Proverbs.  Our  English 
version,  which  is  an  accurate  rendering  of  the  Hebrew  text, 
gives  a  meaning  which  seems  at  first  altogether  different. 
"  Behold,  the  righteous  shall  be  recompensed  on  the  earth  : 
much  more  the  wicked  and  the  sinner."  Though  these 
words  may,  and  probably  do  mean,  '  Even  really  good  men 
are  chastened  for  their  sins ;  and  if  so,  surely  the  wicked 
and  the  sinner  shall  be  punished  with  a  severity  suited  to 
the  heinousness  of  their  guilt/ — a  sentiment  not  materially 
different  from  that  in  the  passage  before  us  ;  at  the  same 
time  this  does  seem  an  instance  in  which  the  inspired 
writer  merely  uses  the  words  of  the  Greek  translation  of 
the  Scriptures,  as  the  vehicle  of  his  own  thoughts,  without 
any  particular  reference  to  their  meaning  and  bearing  in 
the  place  from  which  they  are  borrowed. 

If  we  have  not  misapprehended  altogether  the  meaning 
of  this  paragraph,  the  direct  reference  in  these  words  is  to 
the  tremendous  evils  which  came  upon  the  Jewish  opposers 
of  Christianity  very  soon  after  these  words  were  written. 
These  were  "  the  days  of  vengeance,"  days  in  which  there 
was  "  such  affliction  as  had  not  been  from  the  beginning 
of  the  creation  which  God  created  till  that  time,  neither 
shall  be."^  Nor  are  we  called  to  limit  these  words  to  the 
calamities  which   befell  the   unbelieving   and   impenitent 

1  Mark  xiii.  19. 


172  DIRECTORY  UNDER  SUFFERINGS.  [DISC.  XX. 

Jews  in  their  own  land  and  otlier  lands,  dreadful  as  we 
know,  from  tlie  authentic  narrative  of  their  own  historian 
Josephus,  these  were.  These  to  them  were  not  "  the  end" 
of  the  judgment.  They  were  foreshadowing  symbols  of 
that  everlasting  destruction  in  the  world  to  come,  which 
awaited  them,  along  with  all  who,  like  them,  "  obey  not  the 
gospel  of  God,"  but,  in  opposition  to  all  the  means  used 
for  reclaiming  them,  continue  ungodly  and  sinners. 

As  the  statement  concerning  the  severe  trial  to  which 
Christians  were  to  be  exposed  is  made  the  basis  of  the  ex- 
hortation, "  Commit  the  keeping  of  your  souls  to  God,  as 
unto  a  faithful  Creator;"  so  this  statement  respecting  the 
perdition  of  ungodly  men  seems  to  us  to  be  the  basis  of  the 
exhortation,  "  Commit  the  keeping  of  your  souls  to  God  m 
10 ell-doing.'''  It  is  evident  that  "  to  suffer  for  well-doing," 
as  referred  to  at  the  20th  verse  of  the  second  chapter,  is 
just  equivalent  to  suffering  as  a  Christian,  suffering  on 
account  of  the  consistent  profession  of  the  faith  of  Christ. 
And  the  "  patient  continuance  in  well-doing,"  in  which 
Christians  are  "  to  seek  for  glory,  honour,  and  immortality," 
is  plainly  just  the  persevering  faith  of  the  doctrines  and 
j^ractice  of  the  duties  of  Christianity.  Tlie  persecuted 
Christians  were  to  continue  in  well-doing.  They  had  done 
well  in  embracing  the  gospel,  denying  themselves,  and 
becoming  followers  of  Christ ;  and  they  must  persevere  in 
doing  well,  by  holding  fast  their  profession. 

Should  they  not  thus  persevere  in  well-doing,  but,  under 
the  power  of  terror  and  shame,  abandon  the  cause  of  Christ, 
making  "  shipwreck  of  faith  and  a  good  conscience,"  they 
would  make  a  miserable  exchange  of  circumstances.  They 
must  in  this  case  take  their  place  among  the  ungodly  and 
sinners,  who  obey  not  the  gospel  of  God.  However  severe 
the  trials  of  Christians  may  be,  they  are  nothing  compared 
with  the  punishment  which  awaits  the  impenitent  and  un- 


PART  IV.]     COMMIT  YOUR  SOULS  TO  GOD  UNDER  THEM.  173 

believing.  Even  in  tliis  world,  some  of  the  apostates  of 
that  age,  in  seeking  to  escape  the  persecution  to  which 
Christians  were  exposed,  involved  themselves  in  still  more 
dreadful  calamities.  They  who  in  Jerusalem  remained 
faithful  to  Christ,  following  his  command,  left  the  doomed 
city,  embracing  an  opportunity  very  wonderfully  offered  to 
them,  and  so  were  saved — saved  with  difficulty ;  while  the 
apostates  continued,  and  perished  miserably  in  the  siege 
and  sack  of  that  city. 

In  the  times  of  the  severest  persecution,  it  is  men's  wis- 
dom, by  embracing  the  gospel,  to  cast  in  their  lot  with  the 
afflicted  people  of  God.  That  is  the  only  way  of  escaping 
evils  immeasurably  more  dreadful  than  any  which  the 
malignant  ingenuity  of  earth  or  hell  can  inflict  on  the 
saints ;  and  it  is  absolute  madness  to  purchase  security 
from  persecution,  and  all  that  this  world  can  bestow,  at  the 
price  of  apostasy :  "  for  he  who  turns  back,  turns  back  to 
perdition."  Since,  then,  trials  so  severe  were  awaiting  the 
Church  of  God,  and  destruction  so  awful  was  impending 
over  those  ungodly  men  and  sinners  who,  either  by  im- 
penitence or  apostasy,  were  disobedient  to  the  gospel  of 
God,  how  appropriate  and  how  powerfully  enforced  the 
injunction  of  the  apostle,  "  Wherefore,  let  them  that  suffer 
according  to  the  will  of  God  commit  the  keeping  of  their 
souls  to  him  in  well-doing,  as  to  a  faithful  Creator ! " 

The  two  injunctions  are  most  intimately  connected.  It 
is  only  he  who  is  continuing  in  well-doing,  that  in  the  day 
of  severe  trial  can  commit  the  keeping  of  his  soul  to  God, 
as  to  a  faithful  Creator ;  and  it  is  only  he  who  commits  the 
keeping  of  his  soul  to  God,  as  to  a  faithful  Creator,  that  in 
the  day  of  severe  trial  will  continue  in  well-doing.  All 
others  will  become  weary  in  well-doing  under  persecution  ; 
and  silently  withdraw  from,  or  openly  renounce  connection 
with,  the  oppressed  persecuted  Church  of  Christ. 


174  DIRECTORY  UNDER  SUFFERINGS.  [DISC.  XX. 

There  are  two  general  principles  of  a  practical  kind,  and 
of  very  general  application,  naturally  suggested  by  what 
we  have  said,  to  which  I  would  call  your  attention  for  a 
moment  before  we  conclude. 

They  who  obey  the  gospel  may  count  on  varied,  and  it 
may  be  severe  trials,  previously  to  their  obtaining  "  the 
salvation  that  is  in  Christ  with  eternal  glory;"  and  they 
who  obey  not  the  gospel  can  reasonably  count  on  nothing 
but  everlasting  perdition. 

They  who  obey  the  gospel  are  as  sure  of  salvation  as  the 
love  and  power,  the  faithfulness  and  wisdom,  of  God  can 
make  them.  The  righteous — those  "justified  freely  by  God's 
grace  through  the  redemption  that  is  in  Christ  Jesus,"  those 
sanctified  by  the  Spirit  through  the  truth — shall  certainly 
be  saved.  When  it  is  said  they  are  "  scarcely  saved,"  the 
reference  is  not  to  the  uncertainty  of  their  being  saved,  but 
to  the  difficulties  and  trials  they  may  experience  in  the 
course  of  their  being  saved.  All  Christians  are  not  tried 
as  the  Christians  to  whom  Peter  wrote,  the  Christians  at 
the  close  of  the  Jewish  dispensation  ;  but  all  Christians 
meet  with  afflictions,  and  meet  with  afflictions  because  they 
are  Christians ;  all  suffer,  and  all  suffer  as  Christians.  We 
must  never  think  ill  of  a  cause  merely  because  it  is  perse- 
cuted, nor  indulge  dark  thoughts  respecting  the  spiritual 
state  and  prospects  of  men  merely  because  they  are  very 
severely  afflicted.  The  absence  of  trial  is  a  worse  sign  than 
what  we  might  be  disposed  to  think  the  excess  of  trial.  "If 
ye  are  without  chastisement,  of  which  all  are  partakers, 
then  are  ye  bastards,  and  not  sons."^  But  it  is  not  ex- 
posure to  trial,  it  is  the  endurance  of  trial  in  "  a  patient 
continuance  in  well-doing,"  that  is  the  characteristic  mark 
of  those  who  obey  the  gospel  of  God.  Let  Christians,  then, 
not  woncler  at  their  trials,  however  severe.  Let  them  not 
1  Heb.  xii.  8, 


DISC.  XX.I  CONCLUSION.  175 

count  strange  even  the  fiery  trial,  as  if  some  strange  thing 
had  happened  to  them  ;  and  let  them  seek,  by  rightly  im- 
proving their  trials,  to  convert  them  into  proofs  of  saiutsliip 
and  means  of  salvation. 

They  who  obey  not  the  gospel  of  God  can  reasonably 
count  on  nothing  but  unmixed  misery,  everlasting  perdition. 
"  If  judgment  begin  at  the  house  of  God,  what  shall  the 
end  be  of  those  who  obey  not  the  gospel  of  God  ?  and  if 
the  righteous  scarcely  be  saved,  where  shall  the  ungodly 
and  the  sinner  appear?"  These  words  most  strikingly 
bring  before  our  minds  both  the  severity  and  the  certainty 
of  the  punishment  which  awaits  the  wicked.  If  even 
the  children  of  God,  the  objects  of  his  peculiar  love,  are 
severely  chastened  for  their  faults  in  this  season  of  divine 
forbearance,  what  can  those  who  are  the  objects  of  his 
moral  disapprobation  and  judicial  displeasure  expect,  but 
the  unmitigated  punishment  of  their  sin,  under  an  economy 
which  is  the  revelation  of  his  righteous  judgment,  where 
justice  is  to  have  free  course  and  to  be  glorified  ?  If  the 
trials  to  which  the  righteous  are  exposed  are  so  varied  and 
severe,  that,  though  saved,  they  are  "  saved  so  as  by  fire," 
saved  with  difficulty,  with  a  struggle,  after  "  a  great  fight 
of  affliction,"  what  shall  be  the  state  of  those  who  are  not  to 
be  saved  at  all — not  saved,  but  destroyed  with  an  everlasting 
destruction  from  the  presence  of  the  Lord,  and  the  glory  of 
his  power  1  If  even  children  are  so  severely  chastened,  how 
shall  hardened  rebels  be  punished  ?  "  If  these  things  are 
done  in  the  green  tree,  what  shall  be  done  in  the  dry?" 
Oh  that  men  who  obey  not  the  gospel  of  God,  could  be 
but  induced  to  lay  these  things  to  heart !  If  they  continue 
disobedient  to  the  gospel,  there  is  no  hope ;  for  there  is 
no  atoning  sacrifice,  no  sanctifying  Spirit,  no  salvation,  but 
the  sacrifice,  the  Spirit,  the  salvation  revealed  in  the  gospel. 

But  why  should  they  not  obey  this  gospel  ?     Is  it  not  "  a 


176  NOTES.  [DISC.  XX. 

faith  f ul  saying,  and  worthy  of  all  acceptation  ?"  Oh,  why  will 
they  reject  the  counsel  of  God  against  themselves  ?  If  they 
continue  to  reject  this  counsel  of  peace,  they  must  perish;  but 
there  is  no  necessity  of  rejecting  this  counsel  of  peace,  but 
what  originates  in  their  own  unreasonable,  wicked  obstinacy. 
I  conclude,  in  words  full  of  comfort  to  the  first  of  those 
classes  of  whom  I  have  been  speaking,  and  full  of  terror  to 
the  second.  May  God  carry  them  home  with  power  to  the 
hearts  of  both !  "  The  Lord  knoweth  how  to  deliver  the 
godly  out  of  temptations,  and  to  reserve  the  unjust  unto 
the  day  of  judgment  to  be  punished."  "  The  Lord  is  not 
slack  concerning  his  declaration,  as  some  men  count  slack- 
ness ;  but  he  is  long-suffering  to  usward,  not  willing  that 
any  should  perish,  but  that  all  should  come  unto  repent- 
ance." "  He  that,  being  often  reproved,  hardeneth  his  neck, 
shall  suddenly  be  destroyed,  and  that  without  remedy."^ 


Note  A.  p.  15G. 

It  must  be  admitted  that  there  is  a  strange  disparity  between 
"  the  busybody,"  and  "  the  thief,"  and  "  the  murderer."  It  is 
an  ingenious  conjecture,  but  nothing  more,  of  Dr  Mangey,  that 
a  very  early  transcriber  may  have  Avritten  a^.Xorp/osT/VxoTog, 
Avhicli  appears  in  all  existing  manuscripts,  for  a'AXorpios'jIzXoTog, 
"  a  purloiner  of  other  men's  property."  There  is  more  Aveiglit 
in  Bishop  Barrington's  suggestion  :  "  This  caution  probably  owed 
its  origin  to  the  temper  and  conduct  of  the  Jews  at  this  period. 
They  were  peculiarly  fond  of  intermeddling  in  the  pubhc  coun- 
cils and  concerns  of  other  bodies  of  men."  Josephus,  de  Bell. 
Jud.  lib.  ii.  c.  xviii.  §  7,  8,  gives  an  excellent  comment  on  this 
apostohcal  prohibition.  He  relates  that  his  countrymen,  "  need- 
lessly mixing  with  the  Greeks  assembled  at  Alexandria  on  their 
own  affairs,  and  acting  the  part  of  spies,  greatly  suffered  for  it." 
This  took  place  a.d.  66,  just  about  the  time  this  epistle  was 
written. —  Vide  Bowyer's  Conjectures,  pp.  603-4. 
^  2  Pet.  ii.  9,  iii.  9  ;  Prov.  xxix.  1. 


DISC.  XX.]  NOTES.  '  177 


Note  B.  p.  159. 

"  '  The  disciples,'  we  are  told,  '  were  called  Christians  first  in 
Antioch'  (Acts  xi.  26):  a  notice  curious  and  interesting,  all 
would  acknowledge,  even  as  everything  must  have  interest  for 
us  which  relates  to  the  early  days  of  the  Church.  Some  perhaps 
would  see  in  it  nothing  more  ;  and  yet  if  we  question  this  notice 
a  little  closer,  what  vast  amounts  of  history  it  contains,  and  is 
ready  to  yield  up  to  lis  ;  what  light  it  throws  on  the  whole 
development  of  the  apostolic  Church,  to  know  where  and  when 
this  name  was  first  imposed  on  the  faithful !  I  have  said  '  im- 
posed ; '  for  '  Christians'  was  clearly  a  name  which  they  did  not 
give  to  themselves,  but  received  from  their  adversaries,  however 
afterwards  they  learned  to  accept  and  to  glory  in  it  as  the 
highest  title  of  honouj'.  For  it  is  not  recorded  that  they  '  called 
themselves,'  but  '  were  called,'  Christians  first  at  Antioch  ;  nor 
do  we  find  the  name  anywhere  in  Scripture,  except  on  the  lips 
of  those  ahen  from,  or  opposed  to,  the  gospel  (Acts  xxvi.  28  ; 
1  Pet.  iv.  16).  And  as  it  was  a  name  imposed  by  adversaries, 
so  among  those  adversaries  it  was  plainly  the  heathen,  and  not 
the  Jews,  who  gave  it ;  for  these  would  never  have  called  the 
followers  of  Jesus  of  Nazareth,  '  Christians,'  or  '  those  of  Christ,' 
the  very  point  of  their  opposition  to  Him  being,  that  He  was 
not  the  Christ,  but  a  false  pretender  to  the  name.^ 

Starting  then  from  this  point,  that  '  Christians '  was  a  title 
given  to  the  disciples  by  the  heathen,  let  us  ask  ourselves  what 
we  may  learn  from  it.  At  Antioch  they  first  obtained  this 
name — at  the  city,  that  is,  which  was  the  headquarters  of  the 
Church's  missions  to  the  heathen,  in  the  same  sense  as  Jerusalem 
had  been  the  headquarters  of  those  to  the  seed  of  Abraham. 
It  was  there,  and  among  the  faithful  there,  that  a  conviction  of 
the  world-wide  destination  of  the  gospel  ai'ose  ;  there  it  was  first 
plainly  seen  as  intended  for  all  kindreds  of  the  earth.  Hitherto 
the  faithful  in  Chiist  had  been  called  by  their  enemies,  and 
indeed  often  were  still  called,  '  Galileans,'  or  '  Nazarenes,' — both 
names  which  indicated  the  Jewish  cradle  in  which  the  gospel 
had  been  nursed,  and  that  the  world  saw  in  its  followers  no  more 

1  Tacitus  {Annal.  xv.  24)  confirms  these  conclusions  :  Quos  vulgus  .  .  . 
Christianos  appellabat. 

VOL.  III.  M 


178  NOTES.  [DISC.  XX. 

than  a  Jewish  sect.  But  it  was  plain  that  the  Church  had  now, 
even  in  the  world's  eyes,  chipped  its  Jewish  shell.  The  name 
'  Christians,'  or  '  those  of  Christ,'  while  it  told  that  Christ  and 
the  confession  of  Christ  was  felt  even  by  the  world  to  be  the  sum 
and  centre  of  this  new  faith,  showed  also  that  the  heathen  com- 
prehended now,  I  do  not  say  what  the  Church  would  be,  but 
what  it  claimed  to  be, — no  mere  variation  of  Judaism,  but  a 
society  with  a  mission  and  destination  of  its  own.  Nor  will  the 
thoughtful  reader  fail  to  observe  that  the  imposing  of  this  name 
on  believers  is  by  closest  juxtaposition  connected  in  the  sacred 
narrative,  and  still  more  closely  in  the  Greek  than  in  the  English, 
with  the  arrival  at  Antioch  and  the  preaching  there  of  that 
apostle  who  was  God's  appointed  instrument  for  bringing  the 
Church  into  the  recognition  of  its  destination  for  all  men.  As 
so  often  happens  with  the  rise  of  a  new  name,  the  rise  of  this 
marked  a  new  epoch  in  the  Church's  life,  that  it  was  entering 
upon  a  new  stage  of  its  development.  Before  we  dismiss  this 
word,  let  iis  note  a  much  smaller  matter,  yet  not  without  its 
own  interest.  The  invention  of  this  new  name  is  laid  by  St 
Luke — so,  I  think,  we  may  confidently  say — to  the  credit  of 
the  Antiochenes.  Now  the  idle  and  witty  inhabitants  of  Antioch 
were  famous  in  all  antiquity  for  the  invention  of  nicknames  ;  it 
was  a  manufacture  in  which  they  particularly  excelled.  And 
thus  it  was  exactly  the  place,  where  beforehand  we  might  have 
expected  that  such  a  name,  being  a  nickname  or  little  better  in 
the  mouths  of  those  that  devised  it,  should  have  first  come  into 
being." — Trench  :   On  the  Study  of  Words. 

Note  C.  p.  160. 

Christians  were  persecuted  just  because  they  were  Christians. 
The  words  of  Tertullian  are  remarkable :  "  Non  scelus  aliquod 
in  causa,  sed  nomen  Christianus,  si  nullius  criminis  reus,  nomen 
valde  infestum."  Not  less  remarkable  are  the  words  of  Pliny  to 
Trajan  (Epistt.  x.  97) :  "  Cognitionibus  de  Christianis  interfui 
nunquam  ;  ideo  nescio  quid  et  quatenus  aut  puniri  soleat,  aut 
quseri.  Nee  mediocriter  hesitavi  an  nomen  ipsum,  etiamsi  flagitiis 
careat^  an  flagitia  coh^rentia  nomini  puniantur.  Interim  in  iis 
qui  ad  me  tanquam  Christiani  deferebantur  hunc  sum  secutus 
modum.     Interrogavi  ipsos  an  essent    Christiani  ?     Confitentes 


DISC.  XX.]  NOTES.  179 

iterum  et  tertio  inteiTogavi,  supplicium  minatus.  Perseverantes 
duci  jussi;  neque  enim  dubitabam,  qualecunqiie  esset  quod 
faterentur,  pervicaciam  certe  et  inflexibilem  obstinationem  debere 
puniri.  Fuerant  alii  similis  amentite,  quos,  quod  cives  Eomani 
essent,  annotavi  in  urbeni  remittendos."  "  It  seems,"  as  Lord 
Hailes  observes,  "  that  Pliny  did  not  know  what  inquiries  ought 
to  have  been  made,  and  therefore  he  limited  his  to  two  words, 
'  Christianus  es?'  It  required  but  other  two,  such  as  '  Ego 
quidem,'  or  '  Ita  sane,'  and  the  cause  was  judged  and  the  cid- 
prit  despatched  to  execution.  Blessed  era  in  which,  without 
any  captious  question  as  to  flaws  in  the  indictment,  exceptions 
to  the  verdict,  or  motion  for  arrest  of  judgment,  a  trial  for  Hfe 
might  be  begun,  carried  on,  and  brought  to  a  comfortable  issue, 
by  the  pronouncing  of  about  twenty  letters  !  and  what  mighty 
obligations  did  not  the  primitive  Christians  owe  to  their  equitable 
and  intelligent  judges,  who  by  a  single  and  simple  interrogatory 
relieved  them  from  the  delays  and  suspense  of  a  long  trial !" — 
Disquisitions  concerning  the  Antiquities  of  the  Christian  Church, 
chap.  iv.  p.  100.  "  Your  religion  is  illegal — non  licet  esse  vos, 
was  the  reproach  commonly  cast  on  Christians,  without  reference 
to  the  contents  of  their  religion," — Neander,  Memorials  of  Christian 
Life,  Part  i.  chap.  iii. 


DISCOURSE  XXL 

THE  ECCLESIASTICAL  DUTIES  OF  CHRISTIANS  ENJOINED 
AND  ENFORCED. 


"  The  elders  which  are  among  you  I  exhort,  who  am  also  an  elder,  and  a 
witness  of  the  sufferings  of  Christ,  and  also  a  partaker  of  the  glory  that  shall 
be  revealed  :  feed  the  flock  of  God  which  is  among  you,  taking  the  oversight 
thereof,  not  by  constraint,  but  willingly ;  not  for  filthy  lucre,  but  of  a  ready 
mind  ;  neither  as  being  lords  over  God's  heritage,  but  being  ensamples  to  the 
flock :  and  when  the  chief  Shepherd  shall  appear,  ye  shall  receive  a  crown  of 
glory  that  fadeth  not  away.  Likewise,  ye  yoxmger,  submit  yourselves  unto 
"  the  elder.  Yea,  all  of  you,  be  subject  one  to  another,  and  be  clothed  with 
humility :  for  God  resisteih  the  proud,  and  giveth  grace  to  the  humble." — 
1  Pet.  v.  1-5. 


In  the  preceding  portions  of  this  epistle  the  apostle  has 
instructed  those  to  whom  he  wrote  in  many  of  their  religious 
and  moral  duties  as  individuals,  and  also  in  many  of  their 
duties  as  members  of  domestic  and  civil  society.  In  the  para- 
graph which  comes  now  before  us,  he  writes  to  them  that 
they  "  may  know  how  they  ought  to  behave  themselves  in  the 
house  of  God."  He  gives  them  a  directory  for  their  conduct, 
as  office-bearers  or  private  members  of  a  Christian  church. 
The  duties  of  office-bearers  in  the  Church  to  those  com- 
mitted to  their  charge,  and  the  duties  of  the  members  of  the 
Church,  both  to  their  office-bearers  and  to  each  other,  are 
here  very  succinctly  stated,  and  very  powerfully  enforced. 

With  regard  to  the  office-bearers  of  the  Church,  here 
termed  "  the  elders,"  the  whole  of  their  duty  is  represented 
as  consisting  in  acting  the  part  of  shepherds  and  overseers 
of  that  portion  of  the  flock  or  family  of  God  committed  to 


DISC.  XXI.]  ECCLESIASTICAL  DUTIES.  181 

their  care ;  the  temper  or  disposition  in  which  this  duty 
must  be  discharged  is  described,  both  negatively  and  posi- 
tively— "  not  by  constraint,  not  for  filthy  lucre,  not  as  lords 
of  God's  heritage,"  but  "  willingly,  of  a  ready  mind,  as 
ensamples  to  the  flock;"  and  to  secure  a  conscientious 
performance  of  this  duty,  besides  employing  his  personal 
influence  with  them,  as  being  himself  "  also  an  elder,  and 
a  witness  of  the  sufferings  of  Christ,  and  a  partaker  of  the 
glory  which  shall  be  revealed,"  the  apostle  turns  their 
attention  to  the  peculiar  character  of  the  Church  as  "  the 
flock"  and  "  heritage  of  God,"  and  to  the  rich  reward  which 
shall  be  conferred  on  the  faithful  under  shepherds  and  over- 
seers by  the  chief  Shepherd  and  Overseer  at  his  "  glorious 
appearing,"  and  their  "  gathering  together  to  him." 

With  regard  to  the  members  of  the  Church,  who,  with  a 
reference,  we  apprehend,  to  their  office-bearers  being  termed 
"  elders,"  ^  are  described  by  the  correlative  appellation 
"younger,"^  or  juniors, — just  as,  if  the  office-bearers  had 
been'  termed  fathers,  they  would  have  been  termed  children, 
— their  duty  to  their  office-bearers  is  described  under  the 
general  word  "  submission." 

The  duty  of  all  connected  with  the  Christian  Church, 
whether  as  officers  or  private  members,  is  enjoined  under 
the  expression,  mutual  subjection.  Humility  is  enjoined 
as  necessary  in  order  to  the  right  discharge  of  all  these 
classes  of  duties  ;  and  the  cultivation  of  this  disposition,  so 
requisite  to  the  prosperity  and  good  order  of  the  Church,  is 
recommended  by  a  strong  statement,  couched  in  the  language 
of  Old  Testament  scripture,  of  the  peculiar  complacency 
with  which  God  regards  the  humble,  and  the  contemptuous 
reprobation  with  which  he  regards  the  proud.  Such  is  a 
brief  analysis  of  the  paragraph,  which  we  shall  find  of  use 
in   guiding  our  thoughts  in  our   subsequent  illustrations. 

^  Jlfirfiiripoi.  -'  HiMTipai. 


182  ECCLESIASTICAL  DUTIES.  [DISC.  XXI. 

The  peculiar  duties  of  the  rulers  in  the  Christian  Church, 
the  peculiar  duties  of  the  members  of  the  Christian  Church, 
and  the  duties  common  to  both, — these  are  the  important 
topics  to  which  in  the  sequel  your  attention  will  be  suc- 
cessively directed. 

I.    OF  THE  DUTIES  OF  THE  EULERS  IN  THE  CHRISTIAN 
CHURCH. 

And  first,  of  the  duties  of  the  rulers  in  the  Christian 
Church.  For  the  right  ilkistration  of  this  part  of  our 
subject,  it  will  be  requisite  that  we  consider,  first,  the  appel- 
lation here  given  to  those  who  rule  in  the  Christian  Church, 
and  to  whom  that  appellation  properly  belongs  ;  secondly, 
the  duty  which  they  are  required  to  perform ;  thirdly,  the 
manner  in  wliich  that  duty  ought  to  be  performed ;  and 
lastly,  the  motives  by  wliich  the  performance  of  this  duty 
in  this  manner  is  enforced. 

CHAP.  I.    THE  APPELLATION  HERE  GIVEN  TO  THE  RULERS 
IN  THE  CHRISTIAN  CHURCH  :    "  ELDERS." 

§  1.   The  origin  and  meaning  of  the  appellation. 

The  appellation  here  given  to  the  rulers  in  the  church, 
those  who  were  to  act  the  part  of  shepherds  to  it  as  the 
flock  of  God,  the  part  of  overseers  to  it  as  the  family  of 
God,  is  that  of  "  elders,"  or  presbyters,  which  last  term  is 
just  the  Greek  word  with  an  English  termination.  "  The 
elders,  or  presbyters,  who  are  among  you,  I  exhort."  The 
word  in  its  literal  signification  describes  the  persons  to  whom 
it  is  given  as  of  comparatively  advanced  age.  As  rule 
ought  to  be  committed  only  to  those  who  are  characterized 
by  knowledge  and  wisdom ;  as,  in  ordinary  circumstances, 
these  are  not  to  be  expected  in  a  high  degree  in  very  young 


PART  I.]  DUTIES  OF  THE  OFFICE-BE AEEES.  183 

persons,  since  both  qualifications  are  generally  understood 
to  be  of  somewhat  difficult  acquirement  and  slow  growth ; 
as  in  the  simplest  form  of  human  government,  the  domestic, 
the  elder  members  of  the  society  are  the  ruling  members  in 
it ;  and  as,  where  the  ruling  orders  in  civil  society  are  elec- 
tive, they  are  generally  chosen  from  among  those  of  at  least 
mature  age,  it  is  not  at  all  wonderful  that  the  appellation, 
primarily  significant  merely  of  superior  age,  should  have 
been  very  generally  employed  to  denote  superior  dignity  and 
authority.^  The  Hebrew  ordinary  civil  rulers  are  termed 
"  the  elders  of  Israel."  The  assembled  magistrates  of  Rome 
were  termed  the  senate  or  meeting  of  elders,  and  its  indi- 
vidual members  senators.  In  some  of  the  most  extensively 
spoken  continental  languages,  the  title  expressive  of  dignity 
and  rule,  and  which  we  would  render  by  the  word  lord, 
actually  signifies  just  elder;  ^  and  the  English  term  "  alder- 
man," descriptive  of  municipal  authority  and  power  in  many 
cities,  is  just  an  antiquated  form  of  the  words  "  elder  man." 
It  has  been  the  opinion  of  some  of  the  most  judicious  and 
learned  students  of  the  history  of  apostolical  and  primitive 
Christianity,  that  the  constitution  of  the  Christian  Church 
was,  under  apostolic  guidance,  "  modelled  for  the  most  part 
after  that  religious  community  with  which  it  stood  in  closest 
connection,  the  Jewish  synagogue  ;  such  modifications,  how- 
ever, taking  place  as  were  required  by  the  nature  and  design 
of  the  Christian  community,  and  the  new  and  peculiar  spirit 
by  which  it  was  animated."  ^     In  this  case  it  would  have 

^  Oi  fi'ovov  Tijv  rrpo;  to  ov  cri<rriv  alr^  fiaprupoZiriv  oi  ^p'^irif/.oi,  tyiv  liairiXida  tmv 
apiTttiv  aXXa  xa.)  -TtpuiTot  auTov  ac7'£(p»vav  •TiJ£irjGuT£MV. — Tov  oi  (ppov/itriiiii  xcc)  tro(picci, 
TYii  'xfoi  Tov  Qiov  ^iirrtas  ipatrSivra,  X'syoi  tis  av  'iv'^ix.ca;  uvai  TpifffiuTipov  ■yrccpavu- 
f^ovvra,  Tui  -^rpurai. — Philo.  Upiir(iuTipi>us  Bierito  et  sapientia  dici,  non  setate. 
— IsiDOR.  HisPALENS.     Carpzov.  Sac.  Ex.  in  Ep.  ad  Heb.  p.  500. 

2  Senor,  seigneur,  of  wliich  our  own  respectful  compellation  "Sir"  is 
a  contraction. 

3  Vitringa,  Whately,  Neander. 


184  ECCLESIASTICAL  DUTIES.  [DISC.  XXI. 

been  strange  if  the  designation  of  the  managers  of  the 
affairs  of  the  Jewish  synagogue,  "  elders/'  had  not  been 
transferred  to  the  superintendents  of  the  Christian  Church. 
And  we  cease  to  wonder  that  we  have  no  particular  account 
of  the  formal  establishment  of  the  office  of  elders,  it  being  very 
probable  that  the  existing  order  of  things  in  the  synagogues 
for  religious  instruction  and  discipline,  which  had  been  ori- 
ginally organized  by  inspired  men,  was  silently,  and  without 
the  formality  of  express  legislative  enactment,  transferred, 
under  apostolic  superintendence  and  with  apostolic  sanction, 
to  the  meetings  of  the  disciples,  the  churches  of  Christ. 

With  the  exception  of  "  the  deacons,"  a  term  signifying 
ministers  or  servants,  who  obviously  as  deacons  had  no  part 
in  the  government  of  the  Church,  "  the  elders"  appear  to  be 
the  only  ordinary  set  of  office-bearers  in  the  apostolic  and 
primitive  churches.  In  an  inspired  account  of  the  constitu- 
tion of  the  Christian  Church,  we  are  informed,  when  her 
only  Lord  and  King  ascended  on  high,  "  he  gave" — that 
is,  he  appointed,  and  qualified,  and  commissioned — "  some 
apostles,  and  some  prophets,  and  some  evangelists,  and 
some  pastors  and  teachers,  for  the  perfecting  of  the  saints, 
for  the  work  of  the  ministry,  for  the  edification  of  the  body 
of  Christ."  ^  The  office  of  the  apostles  was  altogether  pecu- 
liar, and  they  who  filled  it  were  intended  for  the  benefit  of 
the  Church  in  all  ages.  They  were  the  accredited  messen- 
gers of  Christ.  They  had  his  mind.^  He  ^pake  by  them, 
and  wrought  by  them  ;  and  though  they  have  long  left  this 
world,  in  their  inspired  writings  they  are  still  in  the  Church, 
according  to  the  promise  of  their  Lord,  "  sitting  on  thrones, 
judging  the  twelve  tribes  of  the  spiritual  Israel ;"  and  in  the 
same  writings  they  are  still  "  going  into  all  the  M^orld,  pi^o- 
claiming  the  gospel ; "  and  their  Lord  by  his  Spirit  is  with 
them,  and  will  continue  to  be  with  them  till  the  end  of  the 
lEph.  iv.  11,  12.  2  2  Cor.  ii.  16. 


PART  I.]  DUTIES  OF  THE  OFFICE-BEARERS.  185 

world.  The  prophets  necessarily  disappeared  when  the 
prophetic  spirit  was  withdrawn.  The  evangelists  seem  not 
to  have  been  properly  office-bearers  in  the  Church,  but 
messengers  from  the  Church  to  the  world  lying  under  the 
wicked  one ;  and  the  missionary,  in  the  later  ages  of  the 
Church,  seems  to  fill  a  place  similar  to  that  occupied  by  the 
evangelists  in  the  primitive  age.  The  pastors  and  teachers — 
which  terms  do  not  seem  to  denote  two  distinct  classes  of 
men,  but  two  functions  of  the  same  general  class — appear  to 
be  the  only  permanent  ordinary  office-bearers  appointed  for 
the  putting  and  keeping  in  fit  order,  for  that  is  the  meaning 
of  the  word  rendered  "  perfecting  the  saints," — those  sancti- 
fied in  Christ  Jesus,  called  to  be  saints,  the  disciples,  the 
brethren, — for  the  work  of  the  ministry,  for  the  edifying  of 
the  body  of  Christ ;  and,  as  we  shall  see  by  and  by,  these 
pastors  and  teachers  were  just  the  same  persons  who  are 
here  called  elders.^ 

In  another  inspired  account  by  the  same  apostle  of  the 
constitution  of  the  Christian  Church,  we  are  informed  that 
"  God  hath  set  some  in  the  Church, — first,  apostles ;  second- 
arily, prophets ;  thirdly,  teachers ;  after  that,  miracles ;  then 
gifts  of  healing,  helps,  governments,  diversities  of  tongues."^ 
Here  it  is  plain  that  the  apostles,  the  prophets,  the  workers 
of  miracles  of  various  kinds,  do  not  belong  to  the  permanent 
order  of  the  Church.  Fact  has  decided  that  question. 
"  Helps,"  or  helpers,  seem  plainly  the  deacons ;  while  the 
teachers  and  the  governments  are  just  the  same  class  of 
persons  as  the  pastors  and  teachers,  their  two  different 
functions  of  instruction  and  rule  being  mentioned  in  an 
inverse  order  in  the  two  cases. 

1  It  is  by  no  means  meant  to  throw  any  doubt  on  the  permanence  of 
the  order  of  deacons.  They  obviously,  however,  were  not  intended  to 
be  "  rulers"  in  the  Church. 

2  1  Cor.  xii.  28. 


186  ECCLESIASTICAL  DUTIES.  [DISC.  XXI. 

As  this  order  of  men  received  the  appellation  of  elders  on 
the  same  ground  as  rulers  have  generally  been  designated 
b}^  some  such  title,^  and  as  occupying  in  the  church  materi- 
ally the  same  place  as  the  Jewish  elders  did  in  the  syna- 
gogue ;  so,  from  the  great  design  of  their  appointment,  they 
are  not  unfrequently  termed  bishops,  which  is  an  anglicized 
Greek  word,  disguised  in  this  way  in  our  version  of  the 
New  Testament,  there  is  reason  to  believe,  to  serve  a  pur- 
pose, and  an  unworthy  one,  but  which  means  neither  more 
nor  less  than  our  English  word  "overseers;"  by  which 
word  indeed,  to  serve  a  purpose  too,  and  the  same  one,  it  is 
in  one  or  two  cases  rendered.  That  the  only  bishops  known 
in  the  New  Testament  are  the  same  class  of  persons  who  are 
termed  elders,  may  be  made  very  plain  in  a  very  few  words. 
Paul,  on  his  journey  from  Macedonia  to  Jerusalem,  sent 
from  Miletus,  and  called  the  elders  of  Ephesus  ;  and  when 
these  elders  had  come,  he  exhorted  them  to  "  take  heed  to 
all  the  flock  over  which  the  Holy  Ghost  had  made  them 
overseers,  bishops."  Paul,  writing  to  Titus,  states  that  he 
had  left  him  in  Crete,  to  "  ordain  elders  in  every  city."  He 
enumerates  the  qualifications  of  an  elder,  and  then  adds, 
"  for  a  bishop,"  or  overseer,  "  must  be  blameless,"  etc.^  If 
this  does  not  identify  the  bishop  with  the  elder,  what  can 
do  it  ?  Suppose  a  law  pointing  out  the  qualifications  of  a 
sheriff  were  to  say  :  A  sheriff  must  be  a  man  of  good  cha- 

^  lipicrfivTipos,  id  est,  senior,  est  nomen  quod  tribuitur  Ministris  Ecclesias, 
sive  quia  olim  Ministri  Ecclesise  plerumque  deligebantiir,  qui  jam  assent 
grandioris  astatis  :  sive  potius  quia  Ministri  Ecclesiaj  moribus  senes 
referre  debent,  iisque  is  tribuendus  honor,  qiii  senibus  tribui  solet ;  ita 
igitur  nomen  non  est  »tatis  sed  officii  et  dignitatis. — Suicer. 

2  Acts  XX.  17,  28  ;  Tit.  i.  5-7.  'Ews/Sjj  XavSavn  roh;  -proXXohs  ti  ffuvrihia, 
f^aXiffrtx.  r>is  x,ix.it''/is  'hia.SriH.yii,  rou;  %'!nirx,'o-7tovi  TptcrlivTipavs  ovofiaZ^ouffot,,  xai  tov; 
■rpurfiuTipous  iTrKnco-raus,  irnfitiaiTiov  roZro  ivTtv^iv  (Acts  XX.  17,  28)  Kxi  ix 
TYis  <!rpo;  Tirov  l-jrtffroX'^;  ku)  ix,  r'Hs  vph  Tif/.ohov  Tpeortis. — Xlpifffiurtpous  xai 
Tovs  I'TitrxoTou;,  xcci  o  rav  TTpa^tuv  (iifiXo;  oi§£  XiyofAivov;.  In  hunc  loc. — 
CECUMENIUS. 


PART  I.]  DUTIES  OF  THE  OFFICE-BEARERS.  187 

racter,  great  activity,  and  resolute  spirit,  for  it  is  highly 
necessary  the  chief  magistrate  of  the  county  should  be  of 
unspotted  reputation ;  would  it  be  possible  to  come  to  any 
other  conclusion  than  that,  in  the  eye  of  the  Legislature,  the 
sheriff  and  the  first  magistrate  of  the  county  were  just  two 
names  for  the  same  officer  ?  How  inconsistent  would  it  be 
to  say  to  a  captain  :  In  appointing  sergeants  you  must 
appoint  only  men  of  such  qualifications,  specifying  them, 
and  then  add,  for  these  are  the  proper  qualifications  for  a 
general  or  field-marshal !  But  we  need  not  go  further  than 
the  text  in  search  of  the  identification  of  the  Christian  elder, 
and  the  apostolic  bishop,  and  the  apostolic  pastor :  "  The 
elders  I  exhort :  Act  the  part  of  pastors  to  the  flock  ;  shep- 
herd them,  acting  the  part  of  bishops  or  overseers."  ^  The 
elders,  in  other  words,  are  exhorted  to  act  the  part  of  good 
pastors,  good  bishops.^ 

The  whole   care  of  a    Christian  church,   as  a  spiritual 

1  noifiavari  iTurxo'Touvrt;.     Presbyter  qiiicunque  (Petro  teste)  est  veri 
nominis  episcopiis. — Blondell. 

2  "All  the  attempts  that  have  been  made  for  the  discovery  in  the 
writings  of  the  apostles  of  some  traces  of  inequality  among  the  -rpio-livTipoi 
(from  which,  presbyter  and  priest)  and  the  Wio-KO'Troi  break  down  entirely 
alike  before  ideas  and  words,  before  the  general  tenor  and  the  details. 
Even  were  these  attempts  a  little  less  frixitless,  it  would  be  a  powerful 
argiiment  at  once  against  the  Roman  system,  that  so  laborious  a  search 
must  be  made  for  its  germs,  without  finding  in  the  whole  New  Testament 
a  single  formal  mention  of  a  trvie  inequality  between  bishops  and  pres- 
byters. But  not  even  the  germs  are  to  be  found  there  :  wherever  men 
may  fancy  they  have  found  them,  close  at  hand  there  is  something  that 
destroys  them.  The  words  priest  and  bishop,  elder  and  overseer,  are 
perpetually  used  there  the  one  for  the  other." — Bungener^s  History  of 
the  Council  of  Trent,  translated  by  Scott,  p.  378.  "  Constat  nomina  ilia 
episcopi,  pastoris,  presbyteri,  nomina  fuisse  tempore  apostolorum,  officii 
ejusdem." — Hobbes  :  Lersiathan,  cap.  42.  Jerome's  words  in  his  note 
on  Tit.  i.  7  are  characteristically  acerb  :  "Idem  est  ergo  presbyter,  qui 
episcopus ;  et  antequam  diaboli  instinctu  studia  in  religione  fierent,  et 
diceretur  in  populis  :  '  Ego  sum  Pauli,  ego  Apolli,  ego  autem  Cephze, 
communi  presbyterorum  concilis  ecclesia  gubemabatur. '  " 


188  ECCLESIASTICAL  DUTIES.  [DISC.  XXI. 

society,  including  instruction,  superintendence,  and  dis- 
cipline, was  committed  to  these  elders,  though  it  is  very 
probable  that  in  the  primitive  churches,  as  among  us,  there 
were  authorized  public  teachers  who  were  not  elders,  and 
had  no  share  in  the  management  of  any  church. 

It  is  plain  there  was  a  plurality  of  such  elders  in  every 
church.  These  formed  the  eldership  or  presbytery  of  that 
church.  In  the  church  of  Jerusalem,  when  met  for  govern- 
ment, we  find  just  the  apostles,  extraordinary  officers,  the 
elders,  ordinary  officers,  and  the  brethren  or  church  mem- 
bers who  listened  to  their  deliberations,  and  to  whom  their 
decision  seemed  good.  We  know  there  were  deacons  in 
that  church ;  but  their  office  was  not  rule,  and  therefore 
they  are  not  named.  The  church  of  Philippi,  which  was 
set  in  order  by  the  apostle,  was  composed  of  "  the  saints  in 
Christ  Jesus,"  the  private  members  ;  "  with  the  bishops," 
overseers ;  elders,  who  ruled ;  and  "  the  deacons,"  who 
served.^ 

While  the  entire  spiritual  charge  of  the  church  was  com- 
mitted to  the  presbytery  or  meeting  of  elders,  what  we  are 
in  the  habit  of  calling  the  session,  there  is  evidence,  not 
that  the  elders  were  divided  into  a  pastor  or  pastors  who 
only  taught,  and  bishops  who  ruled ;  but  that,  while  all  the 
elders  severally  and  in  a  body  superintended  and  ruled, 
there  were  some  of  these  elders  "  who  laboured  in  word  and 
doctrine,"  devoting  themselves  chiefly  to  the  exposition  and 
enforcement  of  the  doctrine  and  law  of  our  Lord  Jesus. 

It  is  comparatively  a  modern,  at  any  rate  it  is  not  a  New 
Testament  usage,  to  apply  the  term  "  pastor"  exclusively 
to  those  teaching  elders ;  that  term  naturally  expressing  the 
whole  work  of  the  Christian  eldership,  and,  like  the  kindred 
term  "  bishop,"  being  given  in  the  New  Testament  to 
Chi'istian  elders  indiscriminately.  But  that  such  a  distinc- 
1  Phil.  i.  1. 


PART  I.]  DUTIES  OF  THE  OFFICE-BEARERS.  189 

tion  as  that  between  elders  who  taught  and  ruled,  and 
elders  who  only  ruled,  existed  from  the  beginning,  is  made 
probable  by  the  reasonableness  and  almost  necessity  of  the 
arrangement,  and  its  obvious  tendency  to  secure  the  gaining 
in  the  best  way  and  in  the  greatest  degree  the  ends  of  the 
Christian  eldership  ;  and  appears  to  me  proved  by  the  pas- 
sage in  the  First  Epistle  to  Timothy,  v.  17,  of  which,  after 
all  that  has  been  said  for  tlie  purpose  of  reconciling  it  to  the 
episcopal  or  independent  order  of  church  polity,  I  am  dis- 
posed to  sa}^,  with  Dr  Owen,  that  "  on  the  first  proposal 
of  this  text,  that  '  the  elders  who  rule  well  are  worthy  of 
double  honours,  especially  those  who  labour  in  word  and 
doctrine,'  a  rational  man  who  is  unprejudiced,  who  never 
heard  of  the  controversy  about  ruling  elders,  can  hardly 
avoid  an  apprehension  that  there  are  two  sorts  of  elders ; 
some  of  whom  labour  in  word  and  doctrine,  and  some  who 
do  not  so."^ 

§  2.   Qualifications  of  Christian  elders. 

With  regard  to  the  qualifications  which  are  necessary  for 
filling  the  office  of  a  Christian  elder,  we  have  full  informa- 
tion in  the  Epistles  of  Paul  to  Timothy  and  Titus.  "  This 
is  a  true  saying,"  says  he,  in  his  First  Epistle  to  Timothy, 
iii.  1,  '•  If  a  man  desire  the  office  of  a  bishop,"  an  overseer, 
an  elder,  in  the  Christian  Church,  "  he  desireth  a  good 
work.     A  bishop  then  must  be  blameless,  the  husband  of 

^  "  Si  omnes  duplici  honore  sint  digni  qui  bene  prsesunt  maxime  ii  qui 
laborant  in  sermone  et  doctrina"  perspicuum  est,  fuisse  aliquos  qui  non 
(sic)  laborarunt.  Nam  si  omnes  fuissent  tales,  sensus  fuisset  absurdus, 
sed  i/.a.Xiff'ra,  poiiit  discrimen.  Si  dicerem  omnes  academici  qui  bene 
student  sunt  duplici  honore  digni  maxime  ii  qui  laborant  in  studio 
tbeologise,  vel  immo  non  omnes  incumbere  studio  tbeologite,  vel  insulse 
loquor.  Quamobrem  fateor  ilium  esse  sensum  maxime  genuinum  quo 
pastores  et  doctores  discernuntur  ab  aliis  qui  solum  gubernabant,  Rom. 
xii.  8,  de  quibus  ambobus  legimus,  1  Tim.  v.  17. — Whitakek. 


190  ECCLESIASTICAL  DUTIES.  [DISC.  XXL 

one  wife,  vigilant,  sober,  of  good  behaviour,  given  to  hospi- 
talit}',  apt  to  teach  ;  not  given  to  wine,  no  striker,  not  greedy 
of  fihhy  kicre  ;  but  patient,  not  a  brawler,  not  covetous ; 
one  that  ruleth  well  his  own  house,  having  his  children  in 
subjection  with  all  gravity  ;  for  if  a  man  know  not  how  to 
rule  his  own  family,  how  shall  he  take  care  of  the  house," 
the  family,  "  of  God  ?  Not  a  novice,"  a  late  convert,  "  lest, 
being  lifted  up  with  pride,  he  fall  into  the  condemnation 
of  the  devil.  Moreover,  he  must  have  a  good  report  of 
those  who  are  without ;  lest  he  fall  into  reproach  and  the 
snare  of  the  devil."  "  Ordain  elders,"  says  he  to  Titus,  "  in 
every  city,  as  I  had  appointed  thee.  If  any  be  blameless, 
the  husband  of  one  wife,  having  faithful  children,  not 
accused  of  riot,  or  unruly.  For  a  bishop  must  be  blameless, 
as  the  steward  of  God  ;  not  self-willed,  not  soon  angry,  not 
given  to  wine,  no  striker,  not  given  to  filthy  lucre  ;  but  a 
lover  of  hospitality,  a  lover  of  good  men,  just,  holy,  tem- 
perate ;  holding  fast  the  faithful  word  as  he  hath  been 
taught,  that  he  may  be  able  by  sound  doctrine  both  to 
exhort  and  to  convince  gainsayers."  These  are  qualifica- 
tions which  are  requisite  in  all  elders,  though  some  of  them 
may  be  required  in  a  higher  degree  in  those  who  are  called 
to  labour  in  word  and  doctrine. 

§  3.   Of  the  manner  in  icJiich  elders  were  invested  with  office. 

With  regard  to  the  manner  in  which  the  elders  were  in- 
vested with  these  offices  in  the  apostolic  Church,  v/e  have 
comparatively  little  information.  We  know  that  Paul  and 
Barnabas  ordained  elders  in  every  church  which  was 
gathered  by  their  ministry  ;^  and  that  Titus  was  enjoined 
by  Paul  to  ordain  elders  in  every  city  where  the  gospel 
had  taken  root.^  But  we  should  undoubtedly  err,  were  we 
concluding  that  these  offices  were  appointed  by  the  apostles 
1  Acts  xiv.  23.  2  Tit.  i.  5. 


PART  I.]  DUTIES  OF  THE  OFFICE-BEARERS.  191 

or  evangelists,  whatever  their  authority  might  be,  without 
consulting  the  brethren.  When  we  reflect  on  the  nature 
and  design  of  a  Christian  church,  and  take  into  considera- 
tion the  probable  method  of  electing  an  apostle  in  room  of 
Judas,  and  the  distinctly  recorded  facts  respecting  the 
election  of  the  deacons,  we  cannot  doubt  that  the  elders 
were  elected  by  the  brethren  from  among  themselves,  and 
presented  by  them  to  the  apostles,  evangelists,  or  other 
church  rulers,  who,  with  fasting,  prayer,  and  laying  on  of 
hands,  solemnly  set  them  apart  to  the  discharge  of  the 
functions  of  the  office  to  which  they  had  been  chosen  ;  thus 
in  the  most  impressive  way  intimating  their  conviction  of 
their  fitness  for  the  office,  and  their  cordial  acknowledgment 
of  them  as  fellow-labourers,  and  commending  them  to  the 
special  care  and  blessing  of  their  common  Lord.  So  much 
for  the  elders  to  whom  the  apostle  here  addresses  so  solemn 
and  affectionate  an  exhortation. 

CHAP.  II.    OF  THE  DUTIES  OF  CHRISTIAN  ELDERS. 

§  1.  Of  the  figurative  terms  in  which  these  duties  are  described: 
acting  the  part  of  a  shepherd  and  an  overseer. 

Let  us  now,  in  the  second  place,  attend  to  the  duty  which 
is  here  enjoined  on  these  elders.  They  are  enjoined  to  "  feed 
the  flock  of  God,  and  to  take  the  oversight  of  it."  The  two 
words  employed  to  describe  the  elder's  duty,  are  suited  to 
the  two  figurative  representations  here  given  us  of  the 
objects  of  their  care.  If  viewed  as  the  flock  of  God,  they 
are  to  feed,  or  rather,  as  the  word  properly  signifies,  they 
are  to  act  the  part  of  shepherds  to  them.  If  viewed  as  the 
property  of  God  or  the  family  of  God,  they  are  to  act  the 
part  of  overseers  in  reference  to  them.  The  Israelitish 
people  are  often  in  Scrij)ture  termed  "  the  flock  of  God," 
and  their  rulers  appointed  by  him  their  shepherds;  they  are 


192  .  ECCLESIASTICAL  DUTIES.  [DISC.  XXI. 

represented  also  as  the  peculiar  property  and  as  the  family 
of  God,  and  their  rulers  as  overseers,  tutors,  governors, 
appointed  by  the  Father,  The  Christian  Church  is  the 
antitype  of  the  Israelitish  people.  The  whole  body  of 
believers  are  the  flock  of  God,  the  property  of  God,  the 
family  of  God  ;  for  in  the  new  economy  all  things  are  of 
God  by  Christ  Jesus.  We  are  Christ's,  Christ  is  God's. 
Jesus  Christ,  who  laid  down  his  life  for  the  sheep,  is  the 
Great  Shepherd,  the  Chief  Shepherd,  whose  own  the  sheep 
are.  To  him  is  committed  the  care  of  the  property  which 
was  purchased,  redeemed  to  God,  by  his  blood ;  and  he,  as 
the  Son,  is  entrusted  with  the  management  of  the  whole 
family  called  by  his  name.  He  is  the  shepherd,  and  bishop 
or  overseer,  of  their  souls.^  Christian  elders  are  here  repre- 
sented as  under  shepherds,  subordinate  overseers ;  and  their 
duty  to  that  portion  of  the  flock  of  God  committed  to  their 
care  is  what  the  apostle  here  refers  to.'^ 

It  has,  I  believe,  been  very  generally  supposed  by 
interpreters,  that  the  expression  rendered  "  feed"  refers 
solely  to  instruction  ;  and  that  rendered  by  "  taking 
oversight,"  to  discipline  and  government.  If  the  term 
"  feed"  adequately  represented  the  force  of  the  original 
term,  there  might  be  a  good  deal  said  for  this  mode  of 
interpretation  ;  for,  no  doubt,  knowledge  is  mental  food, 
and  instruction  is  spiritual  feeding.  But  the  truth  is, 
the  word  signifies,  generally,  act  the  part,  discharge  the 
duty,  of  a  shepherd,  and  is  ordinarily,  when  used  in  a 
figurative   sense,   significant   of   ruling,    being    applied    to 

1  John  X.  11-14;  Heb.  iii.  6 ;  1  Pet.  ii.  25. 

2  The  apostle  gives  the  elders  the  charge  which  the  Chief  Shepherd  had 
given  him  on  a  very  memorable  occasion  (John  xxi.  15-17).  That  scene 
was  always  in  his  mind  (2  Pet.  i.  14).  It  is  remarked  by  Stanley  (Serm. 
and  Essays  on  the  Apost.  Age),  that  "there  is  no  part  of  the  New  Testa- 
ment, with  the  exception  of  John  x.,  where  the  image  of  the  Shepherd 
is  so  prominently  brought  forward  as  in  the  First  Epistle  of  Peter. " 


PART  I.]  DUTIES  OF  THE  OFFICE-BEARERS.  193 

kings.^  To  procure  and  administer  food  to  tlie  flock  is  an 
important  part  of  the  shepherd's  duty,  but  it  is  not  his  only 
duty :  he  must  strengthen  the  diseased,  and  heal  the  sick, 
and  bind  up  the  broken,  and  bring  again  that  which  was 
driven  away,  and  seek  that  which  was  lost.  He  must  go 
before  them,  and  guide  them,  and  govern  them.  The  whole 
duties  of  the  Christian  eldership  are  included  in  shepherding 
the  flock ;  and  equally  extensive  is  the  other  figurative  repre- 
sentation of  the  elder  superintending,  that  is,  taking  care  of. 
If  it  refer  to  property,  how  can  such  a  property,  consisting 
of  immortal  minds,  be  taken  care  of?  Must  not  instruction, 
putting  them  in  the  way  of  taking  care  of  themselves,  be  a 
part  of  the  overseer's  work?  and  if  it  refer  to  a  family, 
must  not  the  good  steward,  tutor,  and  overseer,  the  ruler 
over  his  master's  family,  not  merely  superintend  the  con- 
duct of  the  household,  keep  them  at  their  proper  work,  out 
of  mischief,  away  from  danger,  but  "  give  to  every  one  his 
portion  of  meat  in  due  season?"^  The  first  term  does  not, 
then,  exclusively  refer  to  instruction  ;  nor  the  second  to 
superintendence  and  government.  They  are  two  figurative 
representations,  each  of  them  embracing  the  whole  compass 
of  the  duty  of  the  eldership  of  a  Christian  church. 

§  2.   Of  the  duties  themselves. 

The  whole  of  the  duties  of  the  Christian  eldership  do, 
however,  naturally  enough  range  themselves  under  the  two 
heads  of  instruction  and  discipline,  or  superintendence  and 
government ;  and  to  these  in  their  order  I  wish  very  briefly 
to  call  your  attention. 

^  Uoifiaiva  is  a  word  mi;cli  more  compreliensive  in  its  meaning  than 
lioa-xia.  noifihv  is  applied  to  Kings,  Eurip.  Phcen.  1157  ;  Horn.  II.  i.  2G3  ; 
Xen.  Mem.  iii.  1,  2.  Vide  Casauboni  Exercitt.  Anti-Baron,  xvi.  §  133. 
Xpiirro;  -roifiriv,  on  rif4.as  vifiti. — Chrysostom.  Olshausen  justly  remarks 
that  voif^a.'iMuv  includes  both  Kv[iipvttcri;  and  'Si'SairxaXia. 

2  Luke  xii.  42. 

VOL.  III.  N 


194  ECCLESIASTICAL  DUTIES.  [DISC.  XXI. 

(1.)  Instruction. 

First,  then,  Christian  elders  are  to  act  the  part  of  shep- 
herds and  overseers  to  those  under  their  care,  by  providing 
and  administering  instruction  to  them.  It  is  an  important 
part  of  the  shepherd's  duty  to  find  wholesome  nourishing 
pasture  for  his  flock.  It  is  an  important  part  of  the  duty 
of  the  overseer  of  the  family  to  see  that  every  member  of 
it  be  furnished  with  a  sufficient  portion  of  suitable  food. 
"  The  truth  as  it  is  in  Jesus,"  the  doctrine  and  the  law  of 
Christ,  serve  in  the  spiritual  economy  a  purpose  analogous 
to  that  which  food  does  in  the  animal  economy.  Suitable 
wholesome  food  must  be  eaten  and  digested,  in  order  to 
health  and  bodily  growth,  and  indeed  to  the  continuance 
of  animal  life ;  and  divine  truth  must  be  understood  and 
believed,  and  thus  become  influential  on  the  intellect  and 
conscience  and  affections,  in  order  to  the  continuance  of 
spiritual  life,  and  to  the  healthy  exercise  of  the  functions 
of  the  new  creature.  The  private  members  of  the  Church, 
as  well  as  the  ministers  of  Jesus  Christ,  are  "  nourished  up 
by  the  words  of  faith  and  good  doctrine,"  where  unto  they 
attain ;  and  the  "  new-born  babes  grow "  by  "  the  sincere 
milk  of  the  word,"  which  the  instincts  of  their  new  nature 
lead  them  to  desire. 

Kegularly  and  effectually  to  meet  this  exigence  is  one 
leading  object  of  the  Christian  eldership ;  and  where  suit- 
able provision  is  not  made  for  securing  the  growing  in- 
telligence of  the  members  of  a  Christian  church,  there 
must  be,  on  the  part  of  the  eldership,  most  blameable 
neglect  of  duty.  When  the  disciples  come  together  on 
the  first  day  of  the  week  to  observe  the  ordinances,  the 
ordinance  of  "doctrine"  or  teaching  must  be  attended  to; 
and  the  assembled  brethren  must  be  taught  to  hold  fast 
and  observe  all  things,  whether  doctrine,  law,  or  institution. 


PART  I.]  DUTIES  OF  THE  OFFICE-BEARERS.  195 

which  the  Lord  has  commanded  them.  On  these  occasions 
tlie  elders  who  labour  in  word  and  doctrine  should  be  pre- 
pared, after  close  study  and  fervent  prayer,  to  present  to 
their  brethren  a  clear  and  impressive  exhibition  of  the 
meaning,  evidence,  and  practical  bearing  of  some  of  our 
Lord's  doctrines,  or  a  perspicuous  and  practical  explanation 
and  enforcement  of  some  of  our  Lord's  laws,  having  a  refer- 
ence to  what  they  know  to  be  the  necessities  and  capacities 
of  their  audience ;  taking  care  not  to  confine  themselves  to 
a  few  topics,  to  descant  on  which  may  be  peculiarly  easy  to 
themselves  and  palatable  to  their  hearers,  but  endeavouring 
as  much  as  possible  to  bring  out  in  the  course  of  these 
exercises,  so  far  as  they  have  discovered  it,  "  the  whole 
counsel  of  God  ;"  and  withholding  nothing  that  can  be 
profitable,  whether  it  may  be  pleasing  or  otherwise.  When 
we  consider  how  much  the  great  body  of  Christians,  be- 
longing to  the  classes  whose  time  is  chiefly  devoted  to 
obtaining  the  necessaries  and  comforts  of  life  for  them- 
selves and  families,  must  be  dependent  on  the  instructions 
received  on  the  Lord's  day  for  their  knowledge  of  Christian 
truth,  the  importance  of  Christian  teachers  endeavouring 
on  such  occasions  to  communicate  the  largest  possible 
amount  of  distinct  impressive  instruction,  both  doctrinal 
and  practical,  must  appear  great  indeed. 

The  Christian  preacher,  if  he  is  really  wise,  when  teach- 
ing the  people  knowledge,  will  give  good  heed  to  his  doc- 
trine, that  it  be  wholesome  and  nourishing,  and,  if  possible, 
palatable.  He  will  seek  to  find  out,  first,  true  and  important 
thoughts,  and  then  plain  acceptable  words  ;  and  he  will 
endeavour  that  his  words  be  as  goads,  entering  readily, 
and  as  riveted  nails  when  they  have  entered,  sticking  fast.^ 
The  teaching  elder  ill  discharges  this,  his  highest  duty, 
who  satisfies  himself  with  commonplace  statement  or  empty 
1  Eccles.  xii.  13. 


196  ECCLESIASTICAL  DUTIES.  [DISC.  XXI. 

declamation ;  or  who  spends  the  hours  devoted  to  Christian 
instruction  in  metaphysical  discussions,  and  "  questions  that 
profit  not."  It  has  been  well  said,  "  To  preach,  to  show  the 
extent  of  our  learning  or  the  subtlety  of  our  wit,  to  blazon 
them  in  the  eyes  of  the  people  with  the  beggarly  accounts 
of  a  few  words  which  glitter,  but  convey  little  light  and 
less  warmth,  is  a  dishonest  use  of  sacred  time  ;  it  is  not  to 
preach  the  gospel,  but  ourselves : "  it  is  not  to  feed,  but  to 
starve,  our  hearers. 

It  is  the  duty  of  the  Christian  teaching  elder  not  only 
thus  to  teach  publicly  on  the  Lord's  day,  but  also,  as  God 
gives  opportunity,  to  teach  "  from  house  to  house,"  taking 
such  opportunities  for  presenting  Christian  truth  in  a  form 
more  familiar  than  befits  the  character  of  public  instruc- 
tion, and  more  suited  to  the  circumstances  of  the  individuals 
addressed.  It  seems  to  me  also,  that  a  Christian  eldership 
are  but  following  out  the  spirit  of  the  injunction  in  the 
text,  when  they  endeavour  to  secure,  and  earnestly  recom- 
mend for  the  perusal  of  those  under  their  care,  the  use  of 
a  collection  of  really  good  and  appropriate  books,  fitted  to 
promote  the  knowledge  of  Christian  truth,  the  cultivation 
of  Christian  feeling,  and  the  performance  of  Christian  duty, 
by  enabling  their  readers  better  to  understand  the  Bible. 

The  use  of  all  appropriate  means,  especially  the  preaching 
of  the  word,  for  securing  that  the  brethren  under  their  care 
grow  in  accuracy  and  extent  of  Christian  knowledge,  must 
ever  be  considered  by  the  Christian  eldership  as  the  funda- 
mental part  of  their  duty.  The  church  is  the  school  of 
Christ,  and  the  elders  are  the  schoolmasters.  The  maxim, 
that  ignorance  is  the  mother  of  devotion,  is  utterly  inappli- 
cable to  the  religion  of  Christ.  Knowledge  is  necessary 
in  order  to  faith  ;  and  a  well-instructed  Christian  mind 
is  the  only  soil  in  which  can  grow  and  flourish  the  fair 
flowers  and   the   rich  fruits  of   devout   feeling  and  holy 


PART  I.]  DUTIES  OF  THE  OFFICE-BEARERS.  197 

conduct,  "  which  are  by  Christ  Jesus  to  the  praise  and  glory 
of  God." 

The  duty  of  instructing  the  brethren  Hes  with  pecuhar 
weight  on  the  teacliing  elder.  It  is  his  business,  his  appro- 
priate work,  to  which  above  all  things  he  must  give  himself, 
and  to  which  lie  must  endeavour  to  make  all  things  sub- 
servient. Whatever  may  be  cursorily  done,  this  must  be 
done  carefully ;  and  he  must  "  study  to  prove  himself  a 
workman  that  needs  not  to  be  ashamed,  rightly  dividing 
the  word  of  truth."  At  the  same  time,  every  Christian  elder, 
though  not  called  to  labour  in  word  and  doctrine,  ought 
to  endeavour  to  promote  the  instruction  of  the  brethren. 
Every  elder,  or  bishop,  should  be  "  apt  to  teach ;"  both  able 
and  disposed  to  communicate  Christian  instruction  to  his 
brethren.  Indeed,  till  "  the  earth  be  full  of  the  knowledge 
of  the  Lord  as  the  waters  cover  the  sea,"  it  is  the  duty  of 
every  Christian  man  "  to  teach  his  neighbour,  and  every 
man  his  brother,  saying.  Know  the  Lord."  And  the  Chris- 
tian elder,  whose  ordinary  and  principal  business  is  to 
superintend  and  govern,  is  not  only  warranted,  but  bound, 
to  turn  to  account  his  intercourse  with  the  brethren  in  dis- 
charging his  appropriate  functions,  for  directly  as  well  as 
indirectly  endeavouring  to  promote  their  progress  in  that 
knowledge  of  God  and  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  through 
which,  and  through  which  alone,  grace,  mercy,  and  peace 
can  be  multiplied  to  them, — through  which,  and  through 
which  alone,  they  can  become  the  holy,  happy,  active, 
useful  persons  that  all  members  of  a  Christian  church 
ought  to  be. 

This  duty  of  instruction  must  be  performed  to  all  the 

flock.     The  command  of  the  chief  Shepherd  is  not  only, 

"Feed  my  sheep,"  but  "feed  my  lambs  ;"^  and  there  does 

seem  something  wanting  in  a  Christian  church  where  pro- 

1  John  xxi.  15-17. 


198  ECCLESIASTICAL  DUTIES.  [DISC.  XXL 

vision  is  not  made,  and  made  by  the  elders,  directly  or 
indirectly,  personally  or  by  guiding  and  superintending  the 
exertions  of  others,  for  the  instruction  of  the  younger 
branches  of  the  family.  The  instruction  of  Christian 
children  is  the  appropriate  work  of  Christian  parents,  and 
is  never  likely  to  be  so  efficiently  performed  as  by  them  ; 
but  it  seems  plain,  that  not  only  is  it  the  duty  of  Christian 
elders,  in  their  work  of  superintending  and  governing,  to 
see  that  parents  discharge  their  obligations  in  this  respect, 
but  also,  by  a  system  of  religious  training,  common  to  all 
the  children  connected  with  the  Church,  not  to  supersede, 
but  to  assist  and  supplement,  parental  instruction. 

In  these  remarks  I  have  been  preaching  chiefly  to  two 
individuals  :  "  my  true  yoke-fellow,  who  serves  with  me  as 
a  son  in  the  gospel  of  Jesus  Christ,"  and  myself.  The  next 
department  of  the  discourse  will  be  directed  to  the  brethren 
of  the  eldership  who  rule,  though  they  do  not  labour  in 
word  and  doctrine.  But  if  those  illustrations  of  the  law  of 
Christ  in  reference  to  elders  serve,  as  I  hope  they  will,  their 
proper  purpose  in  us  and  in  them,  the  congregation  are 
likely  to  be  fully  as  much  the  better  for  them,  as  for  any 
sermons  they  have  ever  heard  addressed  more  directly  to 
themselves.  The  importance  and  the  difficulty  of  rightly 
instructing  a  Christian  congregation,  especially  such  a  con- 
gregation as  this,  consisting  of  so  many  individuals,  placed 
in  such  a  variety  of  circumstances,  and  possessed  of  such  a 
variety  of  capacities  and  tastes  for  religious  mental  training, 
are,  I  trust,  justly  estimated  by  your  ministers ;  and  it  is 
our  earnest  wish,  "  by  the  manifestation  of  the  truth,  to 
commend  ourselves  to  every  man's  conscience  in  the  sight  of 
God."  We  would  not  willingly  conceal  nor  corrupt  any 
portion  of  the  doctrines  or  the  laws  of  our  Lord.  We  wish 
to  preach  Christ,  the  sole  authoritative  teacher  and  law- 
giver, the  sole  atoning  Saviour,  the  sole  sovereign  Lord ; 


PART  I]  DUTIES  OF  THE  OFFICE-BEARERS,  199 

"  warning  every  man,  and  teaching  every  man  in  all 
wisdom,  that  Ave  may  present  every  man  perfect  in  Christ 
Jesus."  "  Being  allowed  of  God  to  be  put  in  trust  with 
the  gospel,  we  would  so  speak,  not  as  pleasing  men,  but 
God,  who  trieth  the  hearts."  Sensible  of  the  importance 
of  rightly  dividing  the  word  of  truth,  we  would  "  give 
attendance  to  meditation  and  to  reading,"  as  well  as  to 
exhortation  and  doctrine ;  we  would  "  shun  profane  and 
vain  babblings,  and  speak  the  things,  and  only  the  things, 
that  become  sound  doctrine  ;"  in  our  teaching  "showing  in- 
corruptness,  and  sound  speech  that  cannot  be  condemned."  ^ 
Help  us,  brethren,  with  your  prayers.  Pray  for  us,  that 
our  understandings  may  be  more  and  more  opened,  that  we 
may  understand  the  Scriptures  ;  that,  being  more  thoroughly 
and  extensively  taught  of  God  ourselves,  we  may  be  the 
better  fitted  for  teaching  you.  "  Brethren,  I  beseech  you, 
for  the  Lord  Jesus'  sake,  and  for  the  love  of  the  Spirit,  that 
ye  strive  together  with  us  in  your  prayers  for  us  ;  that  our 
minds  and  hearts  may  be  more  and  more  filled  with  the 
truth,  and  the  love  of  it;  and  that  utterance  may  be  given 
us,  that  we  may  open  our  mouths  boldly,  to  make  known 
the  mystery  of  the  gospel ;  that  the  word  of  the  Lord  may 
have  free  course  and  be  glorified  among  us;""  that  we  may 
speak  it  as  it  ought  to  be  spoken,  with  firm  faith  and  melt- 
ing affection.  It  is  your  interest  as  well  as  ours,  that  you 
should  be  thus  employed.  "  Were  people  much  in  the  duty 
of  prayer  for  their  teachers,  not  only  would  the  ministers  be 
the  better  for  it ;  the  people  themselves  would  receive  back 
their  prayers  with  much  gain  into  their  bosom.  They  would 
have  the  returned  benefit  of  it,  as  the  vapours  that  go  from 
below  fall  down  again  upon  the  earth  in  sweet  showers,  and 

1  2  Cor.  iv.  2 ;  Col.  i.  28  ;  1  Cor.  i.  23  ;  2  Cor.  iv.  5  ;  1  Tliess.  ii.  4 ;  1 
Tim.  iv.  13,  15 ;  1  Tim.  vi.  20 ;  Tit.  ii.  1,  8. 

2  Eom.  XV.  30 ;  Eph.  vi.  19  ;  Col.  iv.  3  ;  2  Tliess.  iii.  1. 


200  ECCLESIASTICAL  DUTIES.  [DISC.  XXI. 

make  it  fruitful.  If  there  went  up  many  prayers  for 
ministers,  their  doctrine  would  drop  as  the  rain,  and  distil 
as  the  dew,  and  the  sweet  influence  of  it  would  make  fruit- 
ful the  valleys,  the  humble  hearts  receiving  it."  ^  And  we 
pledge  ourselves  to  reciprocate  your  friendly  supplications. 
"  God  forbid  that  we  should  sin  against  the  Lord  by  ceasing 
to  pray  for  you."  Daily  will  we  "  bow  our  knees  unto  the 
Father  of  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  of  whom  the  whole  family 
in  heaven  and  in  earth  are  named,"  that  the  gospel  may 
come  to  you  "  not  in  word  only,  but  in  power,  with  the  Holy 
Ghost,  and  much  assurance;"  "that  the  God  of  our  Lord 
Jesus  Christ,  the  Father  of  glory,  may  give  to  you  the  spirit 
of  wisdom  and  revelation  in  the  knowledge  of  him  ;  that  the 
eyes  of  your  understanding  being  enlightened,  ye  may  know 
what  is  the  hope  of  his  calling,  and  what  the  riches  of  his 
inheritance  in  the  saints,  and  what  is  the  exceeding  great- 
ness of  his  power  in  them  that  believe,"  transforming  them 
by  the  renewing  of  their  mind,  purifying  their  hearts  by 
faith,  filling  them  with  all  joy  and  peace  in  believing ;  and 
"  that  he  would  grant  you,  according  to  the  riches  of  his 
glory,  to  be  strengthened  with  might  by  his  Spirit  in  the 
inner  man  ;  that  Christ  may  dwell  in  your  hearts  by  faith  ; 
that  ye,  being  rooted  and  grounded  in  love,  may  be  able  to 
comprehend  with  all  saints  what  is  the  breadth,  and  length, 
and  depth,  and  height,  and  to  know  the  love  of  Christ, 
which  passeth  knowledge,  being  filled  with  all  the  fulness 
of  God."  - 

(2.)  Superiniendeiice. 

I  proceed  to  remark,  in  the  second  place,  that  Christian 

elders  are  to  act  the  part  of  shepherds  and  overseers  to  those 

under  their  care,   by  superintending  and  governing  them. 

The  shepherd  has  but  imperfectly  done  his  work  when  he 

1  Leighton.  2  Eph.  i.  17-19,  iii.  16-19. 


PART  I.]  DUTIES  OF  THE  OFFICE-BEARERS.  201 

has  procured  for,  and  administered  to,  his  flock  wholesome 
nourisliment.  He  must  watch  over  them ;  he  must  not 
allow  either  wolves  or  goats  to  mix  with  them,  and,  should 
such  find  their  way  among  them,  he  must  use  appropriate 
means  to  get  rid  of  them ;  he  must  endeavour  to  prevent 
the  sheep  from  straying,  and,  when  they  do  wander,  he 
must  employ  every  proper  method  to  bring  them  back ;  he 
must  endeavour  to  preserve  them  from  the  attacks  of  dis- 
ease, and  administer  suitable  preventives  and  medicines  for 
prevailing  maladies  ;  and  even  at  personal  hazard  he  must 
protect  them  from  those  beasts  of  prey  who  go  about  seeking 
to  devour  them.  The  overseer  or  steward  has  but  imper- 
fectly done  his  duty,  when  he  has  secured  that  the  children 
are  furnished  with  suitable  instruction.  It  is  his  business 
to  see  that  they  pay  a  proper  attention  to  the  instruction 
prepared  for  them,  and  make  due  improvement.  He  must 
look  to  the  formation  of  their  character  and  the  direction  of 
their  conduct.  He  must  take  care  that  they  are  neither 
idle  nor  mischievous ;  that  they  are  kind  to  each  other,  and 
dutiful  to  all.  Both  the  shepherd  and  the  overseer  must  be 
superintendents  and  governors.  In  like  manner,  the  fur- 
nishing the  flock  and  family  of  God  with  an  abundance  of 
wholesome  spiritual  nourishment,  though,  as  we  have  seen, 
one  most  important  part  of  the  duty  of  Christian  elders,  is 
by  no  means  the  whole  of  it.  The  elders  are  not  only  to 
"  speak  the  word  of  God"  to  their  charge  :  they  are  to 
"have,"  hold,  or  exercise,  "rule  over  them;"  they  are  to 
"  care"  for  them,  to  "  watch  for  their  souls."  ^ 

The  duties  of  rule  or  superintendence  which  devolve  on 
Christian  elders  may  be  considered  in  reference  either  to 
the  Christian  society  over  which  they  are  placed  viewed  as 
a  body,  or  to  the  individual  members  of  that  body.  The 
fundamental  part  of  this  duty,  so  far  as  the  society  is  con- 
1  Heb.  xiii.  7,  17,  24 ;  1  Tim.  iii.  5,  v.  17. 


202  ECCLESIASTICAL  DUTIES.  [DISC.  XXI. 

cerned,  and  without  a  careful  performance  of  which  the 
other  duties,  whether  to  the  society  or  to  its  members,  can 
only  be  very  unsatisfactorily  discharged,  is  to  take  care  that 
it  be  composed  of  the  right  materials.  How  could  a  shep- 
herd manage  a  flock  composed  of  swine  as  well  as  of  sheep  ? 
or  how  could  an  overseer  manage  a  family  into  which  aliens, 
"  strange  children,"  were  continually  intruding  themselves  ? 
Nothing  can  be  plainer  from  the  New  Testament  than  this, 
that  though  Christian  churches  are  the  grand  means  for 
converting  the  world,  the  apparent  conversion  of  the  world- 
ling must  precede,  not  follow,  his  admission  into  the  church. 
The  great  ends  to  be  gained  by  Christian  churches,  whether 
in  reference  to  their  Lord,  as  living  manifestations  of  his 
truth,  and  holiness,  and  grace ;  or  in  reference  to  their 
members — their  edification  in  knowledge,  faith,  love,  and 
Christian  excellence  and  usefulness  generally  ;  or  in  refer- 
ence to  the  world  lying  under  the  wicked  one — their  con- 
viction and  conversion, — will  be  secured  just  in  the  degree 
in  which  these  societies  are  formed  of  men  who  really  know 
and  believe  the  truth,  and  have  felt  its  transforming  efficacy. 
The  churches  of  Christ  must  be  churches,  that  is,  assemblies, 
societies  of  saints,  "  separated  persons,"  "  devoted  persons," 
"  sanctified  persons  ; "  separated  from  the  present  evil  world, 
devoted  to  the  service  of  God  and  his  Son,  sanctified  by 
the  influence  of  the  Holy  Ghost.  Such  are  the  designations 
given  the  members  of  the  Church  in  the  apostolic  epistles : 
"  Beloved  of  God,  called  to  be  saints,  sanctified  in  Christ 
Jesus,  calling  on  his  name,  brethren,  faithful,  elect,"  that 
is,  selected  "  by  a  spiritual  separation  to  the  obedience  of 
faith,  and  sprinkling  of  the  blood  of  Jesus  Christ,  men  that 
have  obtained  like  precious  faith  with  the  apostles." 

The  office-bearers  are  "  stewards  of  the  mysteries  of 
Christ."  It  is  their  business  "  to  take  the  precious  from  the 
vile."     They  are  builders  of  the  temple  of  the  Lord,  which 


PART  I  ]  DUTIES  OF  THE  OFFICE-BEARERS.  203 

ought  to  be  composed  of  "  living  stones,"  of  precious 
materials  ;  and  they  must  take  care  that  the  materials  they 
employ  in  building  it  up  be  not  "  wood,  hay,  and  stubble," 
but  "  gold,  silver,  and  precious  stones."  ^  Christian  elders 
should  admit  none  to  the  communion  of  the  church  except 
those  who  make  an  intelligent  and  credible  profession  of 
the  faith, — who,  in  the  judgment  of  an  enlightened  charity, 
are  Christians  in  the  only  true  sense  of  that  word;  and 
should,  as  in  every  church  will  be  the  case,  persons  be 
admitted  who  are  not  what  they  appear  to  be,  when  the  real 
character  is  developed,  the  elders  ought,  in  the  exercise  of 
an  impartial  discipline,  to  exclude  them  from  a  place  they 
should  never  have  occupied ;  and  by  continuing  to  occupy 
which,  while  their  characters  remain  unchanged,  they  can 
only  do  injury  to  all  the  interests  which  the  Christian 
Church  is  meant  to  subserve. 

Christian  elders  are  to  seek  to  promote  this  healthy  state 
of  a  Christian  church,  not  only  by  careful  admission  and 
discipline,  but  by  such  a  clear  and  faithful  exhibition  of  the 
holy  doctrines  and  laws  of  Christ,  and  by  keeping  the 
society  so  actively  engaged  in  the  great  object  of  their 
association,  the  promoting  each  other's  edification,  and  the 
advancing  the  cause  of  Christ  in  the  world,  as  will  make 
ungodly  men  little  desirous,  while  they  continue  ungodly, 
to  enter  such  a  society ;  and  if,  by  a  mistake  on  either  side, 
they  have  entered  it,  will  make  them  soon  feel  that  they  can 
be  comfortable  in  it  in  no  other  way  than  by  imbibing  the 
spirit  and  submitting  to  the  law  of  its  great  Founder. 

It  is  the  duty  of  Christian  elders  not  only  thus  to 
endeavour  that  the  society  be  composed  only  of  right 
members,  but  in  all  their  meetings  to  preside  among  them ; 
keeping  before  them  the  law  of  Christ ;  taking  care  that  they 
"  continue  stedfastly"  in  the  observance  of  Christian  insti- 
1  Jer.  XV.  15 ;  1  Cor,  iii.  12-15. 


204  ECCLESIASTICAL  DUTIES.  [DISC.  XXI. 

tutions,  keeping  the  ordinances  committed  to  them  by  the 
apostles,  "holding  the  traditions"  as  taught  in  the  Scriptures, 
"  the  apostles'  doctrine,  and  fellowship,  and  in  breaking  of 
bread,  and  in  prayers;"  that  they  do  all  things  as  a  body 
which  Christ  Jesus  has  commanded  them,  and  that  they  do 
them  all  "  decently,  and  in  order." 

But  the  Christian  elders  must  not  only  thus  shepherd  the 
flock  of  Christ,  oversee  the  family  of  God,  viewed  as  an 
organized  body,  but  they  must  act  the  part  of  shepherds 
and  overseers  to  the  individuals  of  which  that  flock  and 
family  are  composed.  This  is  indeed  necessarily  implied  in 
the  right  discharge  of  their  duty  to  the  society  as  a  society; 
for  how  can  a  society  be  kept  pure  but  by  its  members  being 
such  as  they  should  be ;  and  how  can  this  be  secured  but 
by  superintending  and  watching  individual  conduct  ?  The 
spiritual  shepherd  must  "  look  well  to  his  flock,  and  know 
the  state  of  his  herd."  How  otherwise  can  he  "  strengthen 
the  diseased,  heal  the  sick,  bind  up  that  which  is  broken, 
and  bring  again  that  which  is  driven  away  ?  "  how  is  he  to 
"  warn  the  unruly,  to  comfort  the  feeble-minded,  and  to 
support  the  weak  ?  "  ^  It  is  the  duty  of  the  Christian  elder 
not  impertinently  to  intrude  into  private  affairs,  but  care- 
fully and  affectionately  to  watch  the  whole  conduct  of  those 
under  his  care,  and  to  administer  caution,  encouragement, 
advice,  comfort,  rebuke,  and  exhortation,  as  circumstances 
require ;  and  to  do  all  this  as  an  under  shepherd,  an  ap- 
pointed overseer,  in  the  name  of  Him  who,  counting  him 
trustworthy,  has  put  him  into  this  ministry. 

In  thus  taking  care  of  the  house  of  God  by  ruling  it. 
Christian  elders  are  never  to  forget  the  true  nature  of  their 
rule  :  they  are  "  men  under  authority."  They  are  not 
arbitrary  despots,  they  are  not  even  constitutional  lawgivers; 
they  are  but  constituted  administrators  of  the  law  of  the 
1  Ezek.  xxxiv.  4 ;  1  Thess.  v.  14. 


PART  I.]  DUTIES  OF  THE  OFFICE-BEARERS.  205 

one  Master  who  is  in  heaven.  The  flock  is  to  be  manaxjed 
according  to  the  revealed  will  of  the  great,  good  Proprietor- 
Shepherd,  whose  own  the  sheep  are.  The  family  is  to  be 
governed  according  to  the  distinctly  declared  mind  of  the 
one  Father  who  is  in  heaven. 

But  Christian  elders,  as  well  as  those  vmder  their  care, 
are  to  remember  that  they  are  riders  under  him,  that  they 
must  take  their  orders  from  him,  that  they  are  accountable 
to  him,  that  the  sheep  are  not  to  dictate  to  the  shepherds, 
nor  the  children  to  the  tutors  and  governors.  If  Christian 
elders  seek  to  please  even  the  members  of  the  church  in 
any  other  way  than  by  pleasing  them  for  their  good  for 
edification,  by  declaring  and  executing  the  law  of  Christ, 
they  will  prove  that  they  are  not  the  servants  of  Christ,  but 
the  servants  of  men.  The  authority  of  Christian  elders, 
though  subordinate  and  deputed,  is  real  authority ;  so  that, 
in  the  right  discharge  of  their  official  duties,  "  he  that 
despiseth  them,  despiseth  not  man,  but  God."  He  that 
contemns  the  humblest  subordinate  magistrate,  regularly 
appointed  and  acting  within  the  limits  of  his  delegated 
authority,  is  guilty  of  disobedience  to  the  supreme  power. 
Such  is  a  short  view  of  the  duty  of  Christian  elders,  as 
shepherds  of  the  flock,  overseers  of  the  family  of  God ;  duty 
included  under  the  two  heads,  instruction,  and  superintend- 
ence or  government. 

CHAP.  III.   OF  THE  MANNER  IN  WHICH  THESE  DUTIES 
ARE  TO  BE  PERFORMED. 

Let  us  now,  in  the  third  place,  turn  our  attention  to  the 
account  which  the  apostle  gives  of  the  manner  in  -which 
these  duties  should  be  performed.  In  discharging  their 
duties.  Christian  elders  are  not  to  act  "  by  constraint,  but 
willingly ;  not  for  filthy  lucre,  but  of  a  ready  mind ;  neither 


206  ECCLESIASTICAL  DUTIES.  [DISC.  XXI. 

as  being  lords  over  God's  heritage,  but  being  ensamples  to 
the  flock."  ^  We  shall  consider  shortly,  in  their  order,  these 
characteristics  of  the  right  mode  of  performing  the  duties 
of  the  Christian  eldership. 

§  1.  ^^  Not  hy  constraint,  hut  loillinglyr 

Christian  elders  are  to  shepherd  the  flock,  and  superin- 
tend the  family  of  God,  "  not  by  constraint,  but  willingly." 
Some  have  supposed  that  these  words  refer  rather  to  the 
flock  or  family  than  to  the  shepherds  or  overseers  ;  that 
they  describe  rather  the  means  to  be  employed  than  the 
temper  to  be  cherished  by  Christian  elders  ;  that  they 
intimate  that  the  flock  of  Christ  are  to  be  ruled,  not  by 
force,  but  by  persuasion ;  that  they  are  to  be  drawn,  not 
driven  ;  and  that  the  Christian  shepherds  are  to  take  as 
beacons,  not  examples,  those  Jewish  shepherds  who  "  with 
force  and  with  cruelty  ruled  "^  the  sheep  of  the  Lord.  This 
is  unquestionably  truth,  important  truth  ;  but  it  cannot  be 
brought  out  of  the  apostle's  words  without  using  violence. 
The  three  double  clauses,  all  of  them,  obviously  refer  to 
the  state  of  the  mind  of  the  Christian  elder  in  the  discharge 
of  his  duty.  Even  some  of  those  interpreters  who  have 
seen  this  clearly,  have  yet  fallen  into  a  slight  misapprehen- 

1  "  Dum  pastores  ad  officium  hortari  vult,  tria  potissimum  vitia  notat, 
quse  plurimum  obesse  soleut :  pigritiam,  scilicet,  lucri  captaucli  cupidatem 
et  licentiam  dominandi.  Primo  vitio  opponit  alacritatem  aut  voluntarium 
studium :  secundo  liberalem  affectum  :  tertio  moderatiouem  et  modestiam 
qua  seipsos  in  ordinem  cogant." — Calvin. 

2  Ezek.  xxxiv.  4.  "Though  most  expositors  apply  ft,h  uvayxaffTu;  uXX' 
Ixoucrtas  to  the  bishop's  willingness  to  his  work,  yet  Dr  Hammond  applieth 
it  to  the  bishop's  mamier  of  guiding  the  flock,  as  not  constraining  them 
by  force,  nor  using  violence  in  an  active  sense.  And  whether  these  words 
prove  this  or  not,  other  scriptures,  and  the  nature  of  the  case,  prove  that 
bishops  have  no  power  of  corporal  force,  but  of  ruling  by  God's  word, 
and  that  none  but  volunteers  are  capable  of  church  privileges,  and  com- 
munion, and  pastoral  conduct. " — Richakd  Baxter. 


PART  I.]  DUTIES  OF  THE  OFFICE-BEARERS.  207 

sion  as  to  the  precise  meaning  and  reference  of  the  words 
before  us.  From  not  noticing  that  these  words  are  equally 
connected  with  both  the  figurative  injunctions  of  the  duties 
of  the  Christian  elder,  and  from  being  more  occupied  with 
the  sound  than  the  sense  of  the  phrase,  "  taking  the  over- 
sight," it  has  been  common  to  consider  these  words  as 
describing  exclusively  the  temper  in  which  the  office  of  the 
eldership  should  be  undertaken,  not  the  disposition  in  which 
its  duties  should  be  habitually  performed.  It  is  obvious, 
however,  that  it  refers  to  "  feed  the  flock  of  Christ,"  as  well 
as  to  "taking  the  oversight;"  and  it  is  equally  obvious,  that 
the  word  rendered  "  taking  the  oversight "  does  not  refer 
to  a  person's  entering  on  the  eldership,  though  very  appli- 
cable to  such  a  person,  but  to  persons  who  are  elders ;  and 
might  have  been  still  more  literally  rendered,  "  superintend- 
ing them  ;"^  that  is,  not  so  much  undertaking,  as  exercising, 
superintendence. 

The  passage  has  often  been  quoted  to  prove,  that  no  man 
should  be  compelled  by  ecclesiastical  authority  to  take  office 
in  the  Church  generally,  or  to  take  office  in  a  particular 
clmrch  ;  but  its  bearing  on  this  subject,  though  important, 
is  indirect.  The  meaning  is,  that  a  Christian  elder  should 
perform  his  duties,  not  reluctantly,  as  something  that  he  is 
obliged  to  do,  but  cheerfully,  as  something  that  he  delights 
to  do;  not  as  a  task  to  a  hard  master  that  he  must  perform, 
but  as  an  honourable  and  delightful  service,  which  carries 
its  reward  in  the  satisfaction  it  affords.  The  more  the 
Christian  elder  is  constrained  by  a  regard  to  the  authority 
of  Christ,  a  sense  of  his  grace,  and  the  love  of  the  brother- 
hood, to  the  discharge  of  these  duties,  so  much  the  better ; 
but  these  are  species  of  constraint  that  not  only  do  not 
interfere  with,  but  necessarily  imply,  willinghood."     It  is 

2  Necessitas  incumbit,  1  Cor.  ix.  16.     Sed  hujus  sensum  absorbet  lu- 


208  ECCLESIASTICAL  DUTIES.  [DISC.  XXI. 

true  of  duty  generally,  and  eminently  true  of  the  duties  of 
the  Christian  eldership,  that  they  have  no  value  in  the 
estimation  of  God,  and  are  little  likely  to  be  effectual  for 
answering  their  object,  unless  they  proceed  from  a  willing 
mind  ;  unless,  as  the  apostle  expresses  it  in  the  Epistle 
to  Philemon,  they  are,  "  not  as  it  were  of  necessity,  but 
willingly."  The  duties  of  the  eldership  must  be  performed 
not  "grudgingly  or  of  necessity;  for  God  loveth  a  cheerful" 
doer  as  well  as  a  cheerful  "  giver."  ^  A  Christian  elder,  if 
he  is  what  he  should  be,  will  be  very  thankful  that  God  has 
given  him  a  place  in  his  house  at  all ;  and  though  sensible 
of  the  difficulties  of  his  duties,  and  his  unfitness  for  their 
right  discharge,  he  will  be  still  more  grateful  that  he  has 
been  honoured  with  office  there.  He  will  be  disposed  to 
adopt  the  apostle's  words,  "I  thank  Christ  Jesus  our  Lord, 
who  has  enabled  me,  for  that  he  counted  me  trustworthy, 
faithful,  putting  me  into  the  ministry;"  and  to  say  with 
the  Psalmist,  "  What  shall  I  render  to  the  Lord  for  this 
benefit?"  The  spirit  of  the  under  shepherd  should  be  that 
of  the  chief  Shepherd,  who,  when  called  according  to  his 
covenant  engagement  to  lay  down  his  life  for  the  sheep, 
was  "  not  rebellious,  neither  turned  away  back,"  but  said, 
"Lo,  I  come;"  "I  have  a  baptism  to  be  baptized  with; 
and  how  am  I  straitened  till  it  be  accomplished !"^  "There 
may  be,"  as  Archbishop  Leighton  says,  "  in  a  Christian 
elder,  very  great  reluctance  in  engaging  and  adhering  to 
the  work,  from  a  sense  of  the  excellence  of  it,  and  his  un- 
fitness ;  and  the  deep  apprehension  of  those  high  interests, 
the  glory  of  God  and  the  salvation  of  souls  ;  and  yet  he 

bentia.  Id  valet  et  in  suscipiendo  et  in  gerendo  munere.  Non  sine 
reprehensione  sunt  pastores,  qui,  si  res  integra  sit,  mallent  quidvis  potius 
esse.— Bengel. 

1  Pliilem.  14 ;  2  Cor.  ix.  7. 

2  1  Tim.  i.  12 ;  Isa.  I.  5 ;  Ps.  cxvi.  12,  xl.  7  ;  Luke  xii.  50. 


PART  I.]  DUTIES  OF  THE  OFFICE-BEARERS.  209 

enters  and  continues  in  it  with  this  wilHngness  of  mind, 
with  most  single  and  earnest  desires  of  doing  all  he  can  for 
God  and  the  flock  of  God  ;  only  grieved  that  there  is  in 
him  so  little  suitableness  of  heart,  so  little  holiness  and 
acquaintance  with  God  for  enabling  him  to  it ;  but  might 
he  find  that,  he  were  satisfied  ;  and  in  attendance  upon  that, 
goes  on  and  waits,  and  is  doing  according  to  his  little  skill 
and  strength,  and  cannot  leave  it ;  is  constrained  indeed, 
but  all  the  constraint  is  love  to  Jesus,  and  for  the  sake  of 
the  souls  He  hath  bought ;  a  constraint  far  different  from 
the  constraint  here  discharged  ;  yea,  indeed,  that  very 
willingness  which  is  opposed  to  that  other  constraint." 

§  2.  ^^  Not  for  filthy  lucre,  hut  of  a  ready  mincir 

Christian  elders  are  to  shepherd  the  flock,  and  superin- 
tend the  family  of  God,  not  "  for  filthy  lucre,  but  of  a  ready 
mind  ;"  as  well  as  "  not  from  constraint,  but  willingly." 
The  former  clause,  as  we  have  just  seen,  is  equivalent  to — 
not  reluctantly,  but  cheerfully.  This  seems  equivalent 
to — not  in  a  self-interested,  mercenary  disposition,  but  in 
a  disinterested  spirit  of  gratitude  to  God  and  love  to  the 
brethren. 

There  is  nothing  wrong  in  a  Christian  elder,  who  de- 
votes his  time  and  talents  to  the  promotion  of  the  good  of 
the  church  over  which  he  is  placed,  receiving,  from  the 
church's  justice  and  gratitude,  their  sense  of  his  claims  on 
them,  and  their  obligations  to  him,  temporal  support.  It 
is  the  command  of  the  apostle,  "  Let  him  who  is  taught, 
communicate  to  him  that  teacheth  in  all  good  things."  It 
is  the  ordination  of  our  Lord,  "  that  they  who  preach 
the  gospel  should  live  of  the  gospel,"  just  as  "  they  who 
ministered  at  the  altar  lived  by  the  altar."  "  Who  goeth 
a  warfare  any  time  at  his  own  charges "?  who  planteth  a 
vineyard,  and  eateth  not  of  the  fruit   thereof  ?    or  who 

VOL.  III.  O 


210  ECCLESIASTICAL  DUTIES.  [DISC.  XXL 

feedeth  a  flock,  and  eateth  not  of  the  milk  of  the  flock  I  Say 
I  these  things  as  a  man  ?  or  saith  not  the  law  the  same 
also  ?  For  it  is  written  in  the  law  of  ]\Ioses,  Thou  shalt 
not  muzzle  the  mouth  of  the  ox  that  treadeth  out  the  corn. 
Doth  God  care  for  oxen"?  or  saith  he  it  altogether  for  our 
sakes  ?  For  our  sakes,  no  doubt,  this  is  written,  that  he 
who  ploweth  should  plow  in  hope ;  and  that  he  that 
thrasheth  in  hope  should  be  partaker  of  his  hope.  If  we 
have  sown  unto  you  spiritual  things,  is  it  a  great  thing  if 
we  shall  reap  your  carnal  things?"^  These  passages  seem 
to  refer  to  the  teaching  elder,  whose  whole  attention  is  to 
be  directed  to  reading  and  meditation  in  private,  and  to 
"  word  and  doctrine,"  both  "  publicly  and  from  house  to 
house;"  but  it  is  plain  that  the  elders  who  rule,  if  they 
are  in  circumstances  in  which  they  cannot  devote  the  time 
necessary  to  the  service  of  the  church,  without  injustice  to 
themselves  and  families,  are  equally  entitled  to  support. 
This  is  implied  in  the  injunction,  "  Let  the  elders  who  rule 
well  be  counted  worthy  of  double  honour,"  obviously  not 
excluding  the  honour  of  voluntary  support,  "  especially  those 
who  labour  in  word  and  doctrine." 

But  while  all  this  is  true,  it  is  not  less  true  that  the  duties 
of  Christian  elders  must  be  performed  "  not  for  filthy 
lucre."  No  man  must  convert  the  Christian  eldership  into 
a  trade,  in  this  way  "  making  gain  of  godliness."  Even 
with  those  elders  who  are  entirely  dependent  on  their 
labours,  who  have  no  source  of  income  but  the  effect  of  the 
authority  and  grace  of  Christ  on  the  minds  and  consciences 
and  hearts  of  those  to  whom  they  minister,  the  principle 
must  be,  "  Freely  ye  have  received,  freely  ye  give."  And 
wherever  sacred  duties  are  performed  from  a  regard  to 
worldly  gain,  in  whatever  form, — whether  in  the  form  of 
fixed  stipend,  or  occasional  gifts,  or  increased  respectability 
1  1  Cor.  ix.  7-11. 


PART  I.]  DUTIES  OF  THE  OFFICE-BEARERS.  211 

of  character  and  worldly  influence,  leading  to  success  in 
worldly  business, — there  is  fearful  desecration.  The  apostle 
obviously  lays  much  stress  on  this  point.  In  his  First 
Epistle  to  Timothy  (iii.  3)  he  says,  a  bishop  must  "  not 
be  greedy  of  filthy  lucre,  not  covetous  ;"  and  in  his  Epistle 
to  Titus  (i.  7)  he  repeats  the  declaration.  Such  repeated 
warnings  were  not  more  than  the  case  required.  There 
has  been  too  much  of  this  in  every  age  of  the  Church,  and 
the  evil  is  not  unknown  even  in  our  own  times  ;  nor  is  it 
confined  within  the  limits  of  richly  endowed  churches, 
where  its  existence,  if  not  less  criminal  than  elsewhere, 
is  less  wonderful.  It  is  a  most  deplorable  thing  when  a 
regard  to  secular  interest  is  allowed  to  interfere  either  with 
the  declaration  of  Christian  doctrine  or  the  administration 
of  Christian  discipline  ;  when  professed  Christian  teachers 
"  prepare  war  against  him  that  putteth  not  into  their 
mouths,"^  and  "teach  things  that  they  ought  not  for  filthy 
lucre's  sake,  through  covetousness,  with  feigned  words, 
making  merchandise  of  their  people,  having  hearts  exercised 
to  covetous  practices,  serving  not  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ, 
but  their  own  belly  ;"^  and  when  the  rulers  of  the  Church, 
from  secular  considerations,  prefer  one  before  another,  and 
do  anything  in  the  administration  of  discipline  by  partiality  ; 
when  "  the  watchmen  are  greedy  dogs  that  can  never  have 
enough,  all  looking  to  their  own  way,  every  one  for  his 
gain  from  his  quarter;"  and  when  Malachi's  question  is  an 
appropriate  one,  "  Who  is  there  among  you  that  would  shut 
the  doors  for  nought  I  neither  do  ye  kindle  the  fire  on  my 
altar  for  nought."^  Balaam's  resolution  should  be  formed 
and  kept,  not  only  as  it  was  by  him,  in  the  letter,  but  as  it 
was  not  by  him,  in  the  spirit.  "  If  Balak  would  give  me 
his  house  full  of  silver  and  gold,  I  cannot  go  beyond  the 

1  Mic.  iii.  5.  2  xit.  i.  11  ;  2  Pet.  ii.  3,  14 ;  Rom.  x\'i.  18. 

3  Isa.  Ivi.  11  ;  Mai.  i.  10. 


212  ECCLESIASTICAL  DUTIES.  [DISC.  XXI. 

word  of  tlie  Lord  my  God,  to  do  less  or  more."  Yet  it  is 
very  deliglitfid  to  perceive  that  so  many  of  our  ministers 
are  men  who,  with  the  same  talents  and  education  and 
effort,  might  have  secured  for  themselves  far  higher  secular 
advantages  than  they  possess,  or  ever  can  expect  to  possess, 
as  Christian  elders.  And  the  disinterestedness  of  many  of 
our  Christian  elders  who  rule,  but  do  not  labour  in  word  and 
doctrine,  in  not  only  cheerfully  giving  their  unpaid  and 
often  ill-estimated  labour  to  the  churches,  but,  in  addition, 
being  patterns  to  the  believers  in  liberally  giving  of  their 
substance  to  promote  the  support  and  extension  of  the  cause 
of  Christ,  makes  it  very  evident  that  they  shepherd  the  flock, 
that  they  superintend  the  family,  of  God,  "  not  for  filthy 
lucre,  but  of  a  ready  mind."  The  Christian  elder,  when  he 
becomes  old  and  grey-headed,  should  be  able  to  say  with 
Samuel,  "  Behold,  here  I  am ;  witness  against  me  before 
the  Lord ;  whose  ox  have  I  taken  I  or  whose  ass  have  I 
taken?  or  whom  have  I  defrauded?"  or  with  Paul,  "  I  have 
coveted  no  man's  silver  or  gold ;"  "  I  seek  not  yours,  but 
you."^ 

Disinterestedness,  in  opposition  to  mercenariness,  should 
characterize  the  labours  of  the  Christian  elder.  Regard  to 
the  divine  glory ;  gratitude  for  the  divine  grace ;  love  to  the 
Saviour  who  died,  and  to  those  for  whom  he  died ;  eager 
desire  that  his  name  may  not  be  blasphemed  through  the 
inconsistent  conduct  of  those  who  are  called  by  it,  and  that 
it  may  be  glorified  in  the  holiness  and  happiness  of  his 
blood-bought  heritage,  and  in  bringing  down  the  people  in 
subjection  to  him,  making  them  "  willing  in  the  day  of  his 
power:"  these  are  the  principles  wdiich  should  preside  in 
the  mind  and  heart  of  the  Christian  elder,  and  make  him 
alert  and  cheerful  in  all  the  duties,  however  burdensome, 
of  his  ofiicial  calling ;  producing  a  forwardness  of  mind  far 
1  Num.  xxii.  18  ;  1  Sam.  xii.  3 ;  Acts  xx.  33  ;  2  Cor.  xii.  14, 


PART  I]  DUTIES  OF  THE  OFFICE-BEARERS.  213 

superior  to  what  the  stimulus  of  covetousness  can  create. 
Yes,  as  the  good  Archbishop  says,  "  it  is  love,  much  love, 
which  gives  much  unwearied  care  and  much  skill  in  this 
charge.  How  sweet  is  it  to  him  that  loves  to  bestow  him- 
self, '  to  spend  and  be  spent,'  upon  his  service  whom  he 
loves !  Jacob,  in  the  same  kind  of  service,  endured  all, 
and  found  it  light  by  reason  of  love,  the  cold  of  the  nights 
and  the  heat  of  the  days  seven  years  for  his  Eachel,  and 
they  seemed  to  him  but  a  few  days  because  he  loved  her. 
Love  is  the  great  endowment  of  a  shepherd  of  Christ's 
flock.  He  says  not  to  Peter,  Art  thou  wise,  or  learned,  or 
eloquent "?  but,  '  Lovest  thou  me  ?  lovest  thou  me  ?  lovest 
thou  me  ?'  Art  thou  of  a  ready  mind  ?  '  Feed  my  sheep  : 
feed  my  lambs.' " 

§  3.  Not  as  lords  of  God's  heritage,  but  being  eiisaniples  to 
the  jlock. 

Christian  elders  are  to  shepherd  the  flock  and  oversee 
the  children  of  God,  "  not  as  lords  of  God's  heritage,^  but 
being  ensamples  to  the  flock."  These  duties  are  to  be  per- 
formed not  in  a  proud,  overbearing  spirit.  They  are  duties 
of  rule,  and  therefore  there  is  a  temptation  to  pride  in 
performing  them.  But  the  elders  are  to  remember  that, 
though  they  are  rulers  in,  they  are  not  lords  over,  the  family 
of  God.  The  Son  alone  is  lord  over  his  own  house.  We 
proclaim  not  ourselves  lords,  says  the  Apostle  Paul ;  "  we 
preach  Jesus  the  Lord,"  the  only  Lord,  the  One  ISIaster 
and  Proprietor.  There  were  rulers  in  Israel ;  but  Jehovah 
alone,  in  the  highest  sense  of  the  word,  was  Israel's  king. 
The  soil  was  his,  and  so  were  the  people.  Of  the  spiritual 
Israel,  Jehovah-Jesus  is  the  proprietor  and  lord.  He  is 
Lord  of  all :  he  is  our  Lord,  and  we  are  all  brethren.     For 

1  Presbyteri  postea  clominatum  sumserunt.  Unde  ex  Seniore  factus 
est  Shjuore,  in  Italia  presertim. — Bengel. 


214  ECCLESIASTICAL  DUTIES.  [DISC.  XXL 

the  good  of  the  whole,  some  of  the  brethren  are  called  by 
him  to  rule  under  him,  to  administer  his  laws;  but  this 
lays  no  foundation  for  claiming  to  be  lords  of  their  faith. 
"The  bride  is  the  bridegroom's  ;"  the  Church  is  the  Lord's. 
The  Church  does  not  belong  to  the  elders,  but  the  elders  to 
the  Church.  "  All  things  are  yours,  and  ye  are  Christ's, 
and  Christ  is  God's."  "  Diotrephes,  who  loveth  to  have  the 
pre-eminence,"  is  the  beacon,  not  the  model,  for  Christian 
elders. 

The  Christian  elder,  even  when  he  must  "come  with  a 
rod,"  as  but  too  often  is  necessary,  should  come  "  in  love, 
and  in  the  spirit  of  meekness."  How  beautifully  did  Paul, 
though  in  authority  and  success  and  gifts  "not  behind  the 
very  chiefest  of  the  apostles,"  exemplify  his  beloved  brother 
Peter's  precept !  He  did  not  conduct  himself  as  a  lord 
over  God's  heritage.  He  disowned  all  claim  to  personal 
lordship  over  their  faith.  He  sought  not  glory,  but,  when 
he  might  have  used  authority  as  an  apostle  of  Christ,  was 
"'gentle"  among  the  disciples,  "even  as  a  nurse  cherishetli 
her  children."  And  the  servant  of  the  Lord  in  every  age 
must  not  be  overbearing  and  ambitious:  "  he  must  not  strive, 
but  be  gentle  to  all  men,  apt  to  teach,  patient ;  in  meekness 
instructing  those  who  oppose  themselves."  He  must  never 
forget  the  words  of  the  Master,  "  Ye  know  that  the  princes 
of  the  Gentiles  exercise  dominion  over  them,  and  they  that 
are  great  exercise  authority  upon  them.  But  it  shall  not 
be  so  among  you  :  but  whosoever  will  be  great  among  you, 
let  him  be  your  minister ;  and  whosoever  will  be  chief 
among  you,  let  him  be  your  servant ;  even  as  the  Son  of 
man  came  not  to  be  ministered  unto,  but  to  minister,  and 
to  give  his  life  a  ransom  for  many."^ 

Instead  of  acting  as  if  they  were  lords  of  God's  heritage, 
Christian  elders  are  to  perform  their  duties  "  as  ensamples 
1  Matt.  XX.  25-28  ;  Luke  xxii.  25,  26.      Vide  note  A. 


PART  I.]  DUTIES  OF  THE  OFFICE-BEARERS.  215 

to  the  flock."  In  the  careful  discharge  of  their  duty  to 
those  under  their  care,  they  are  to  teach  them  by  example 
to  perform  the  duties  which  they  owe  them  and  their  Lord. 
By  being  dutiful  to  their  people,  they  are  to  teach  their 
people  to  be  dutiful  to  them.  By  being  obedient  to  Christ, 
they  are  to  teach  them  to  be  obedient  to  him.  And  it 
deserves  notice,  that  all  the  duties  Christian  elders  are 
called  on  officially  to  discharge,  are  duties  which  the  Chris- 
tian brethren  are  substantially  called  on  to  perform.  They 
are  to  "  exhort  one  another  daily  while  it  is  called  to-day ; " 
they  are  all  of  them  to  "  look  diligently,  lest  any  man  fail 
of  the  grace  of  God."  And  the  graces  which  are  required 
in  the  Christian  life,  are  just  those  which  must  be  manifested 
in  the  right  discharge  of  pastoral  duty.^ 

A  Christian  elder  cannot  neglect  duty,  cannot  commit  sin 
of  any  kind,  without  doing  more  harm  than  a  common 
church  member  ;  and  no  kind  of  neglect  or  fault  is  likely  to 
exercise  a  more  malignant  influence  than  those  which  refer 
to  official  obligations.  The  Christian  elder,  therefore,  should 
seek  to  be  "  an  example  to  the  believers  in  word,  in  conver- 
sation, in  charity,  in  spirit,  in  faith,  in  piu'ity;  showing 
himself  a  pattern  of  good  works."  What  a  blessed  influence 
is  the  holy  character  and  conduct  of  Christian  elders  calcu- 
lated to  diffuse  through  the  church  !  In  certain  cases  they 
should  readily  waive  undoubted  rights,  that  they  may  be 
the  better  able  to  give  a  needed  example.  They  should 
imitate  Paul :  "  Yourselves  know,"  says  he  to  the  Thessa- 
lonians,  "  how  ye  ought  to  follow  us :  for  we  behaved  not 
ourselves  disorderly  among  you;    neither  did  we  eat  any 

1  "  Ea  debet  esse  Pastoris  vita  ut  non  solum  quicquid  loquitur,  sed 
etiam  quicquid  agit,  sit  auditorum  doctrina." — Gerha_rd.  "Moiistrosa 
res  est  gradus  summus  et  animus  infimus  ;  sedes  prima  et  vita  ima  ; 
lingua  magniloqua  et  ^dta  otiosa  ;  sermo  multus  et  fructus  nullus  ;  vultus 
gravis  et  actus  levis  ;  ingens  auctoritas  et  nutans  stabilitas. " — Bernard. 


216  ECCLESIASTICAL  DUTIES.  [DISC.  XXL 

man's  bread  for  nought ;  but  wrought  witli  labour  and 
travail  night  and  day,  that  we  might  not  be  chargeable  to 
any  of  you  :  not  because  we  have  not  power,  but  to  make 
ourselves  an  ensample  unto  you  to  follow  us."  ^  How 
happy  is  it  when  they  can  say,  "  We  beseech  you,  be 
followers  of  us,  as  dear  children ;  be  followers  of  us,  even 
as  we  also  are  of  Christ !"  After  a  Christian  elder  has 
said  to  those  under  his  care,  "  Whatsoever  things  are  true, 
whatsoever  things  are  honest,  whatsoever  things  are  just, 
whatsoever  things  are  pure,  whatsoever  things  are  lovely, 
whatsoever  things  are  of  good  report ;  if  there  be  any 
virtue,  and  if  there  be  any  praise,  think  on  these  things," 
what  a  powerful  enforcement  is  it  to  the  exhortation,  when 
the  eloquence  of  a  holy  example,  more  persuasive  than 
words,  is  felt  in  the  heart  of  every  hearer,  saying,  "  Those 
things  which  ye  have  both  learned,  and  received,  and  heard, 
and  seen  in  me,  do :  and  the  God  of  peace  shall  be  with 
you!"2 

The  two  parts  of  the  clause  under  remark  throw  light  on 
each  other.  The  elder  who  lords  it  over  his  brethren,  is 
not,  cannot  be,  "  an  ensample'^  to  the  flock.  He  is  the  very 
reverse  of  an  ensample.  He  exemplifies  the  temper  which 
they  ought  most  carefully  to  avoid.  And,  on  the  other  hand, 
if  the  elder  acts  as  an  ensample  to  the  flock,  he  cannot  lord 
it  over  them.  The  domineering  elder  cannot  be  an  exem- 
plary elder,  and  the  exemplary  elder  cannot  be  a  domi- 
neering elder.  Nothing  sits  so  gracefully  on  the  ruler  in 
the  Christian  Church  as  kind  condescension.  Nothing  is 
more  unbecoming  in  him  than  overbearing  haughtiness. 
The  Master  is  the  great  model.  "  Ye  call  me  Master  and 
Lord :  and  ye  say  well ;  for  so, I  am.  If  I  then,  your  Lord 
and  Master,  have  washed  your  feet,  ye  also  ought  to  wash 
one  another's  feet.  For  I  have  given  you  an  example,  that 
1  Acts  XX.  34,  35  ;  2  Thess.  iii.  7.  ^  pjiii.  iy.  8,  9. 


PART  I.]  DUTIES  OF  THE  OFFICE-BEARERS.  217 

ye  should  do  as  I  have  done  to  you.  Verily,  verily,  I  say 
unto  you.  The  servant  is  not  greater  than  his  lord ;  neither 
is  he  that  is  sent  greater  than  he  that  sent  him.  If  Chris- 
tian elders  know  these  things,  happy  will  it  be  for  themselves 
and  for  the  churches  if  they  do  them."  ^ 

Such  is  the  temper  in  which  the  duties  of  Christian 
elders  should  be  performed;  not  reluctantly,  but  cheerfully ; 
not  mercenarily,  but  disinterestedly,  from  love  to  God  and 
love  to  the  brethren ;  not  ambitiously,  to  display  or  establish 
superiority  and  rule,  but  humbly,  for  the  purpose  of  setting 
an  example  of  Christian  obedience ;  ^  not  to  glorify  them- 
selves, but  to  edify  the  brethren. 

CHAP.  IV.    OF  THE  MOTIVES  TO  THESE  DUTIES. 

It  still  remains  for  us  on  this  part  of  our  subject  to 
attend  to  the  motives  by  which  the  apostle  urges  Christian 
elders  to  discharge  their  duties  in  this  manner.  These 
motives  are  derived  from  considerations  referring  personally 
to  the  apostle — "  I  exhort  you  ;  I  who  am  a  fellow-elder,  a 
witness  of  the  sufferings  of  Christ,  and  a  partaker  of  the 
glory  that  shall  be  revealed;"  from  considerations  referring 
to  the  Church— it  is  "  the  flock  of  God,"  "  God's  heritage  ;" 
and  from  considerations  referring  to  the  office-bearers  them- 
selves— if  they  perform  their  duties  in  this  way,  "  when 
the  chief  Shepherd  appears,  they  shall  receive  a  crown 
of  glory,  which  fadeth  not."  Let  us  shortly  endeavour  to 
brinor  out  the  force  of  the  motives  arising  from  these  three 
sources. 

1  Jolm  xiii.  13-17. 

2  "  Tres  sunt  ministerii  ecclesiastic!  pestes,  aipyia,  alff^foxif^ila,  et  <pi>.o- 
■rpiuTiiK." — Gerhard. 


218  ECCLESIASTICAL  DUTIES.  [DISC.  XXL 

§  1.  Motives  suggested  hy  the  apostles  reference  to  himself. 

(1.)   He  was  also  an  elder. 

And  first,  let  us  consider  the  motives  suggested  by  the 
apostle's  reference  to  himself.  "  The  elders  who  are  among 
you  I  exhort,  who  am  also  an  elder,  and  a  witness  of  the 
sufferings  of  Christ,  and  a  partaker  of  the  glory  which 
shall  be  revealed."  ^  I  exhort,  says  Peter ;  and  who  was 
he?  "An  apostle  of  Jesus  Christ," — one  of  those  so  spe- 
cially commissioned  by  Christ  Jesus  to  act  the  part  of 
ambassadors  in  his  room,  who  is  the  great  ambassador  from 
God,  as  that  when  they  exhorted  it  was  "  as  though  God 
did  beseech  men"  by  them  ;  to  whom  he  had  said,  "As  the 
Father  hath  sent  me,  so  I  send  you :  whatsoever  ye  bind  on 
earth  is  bound  in  heaven  ;  whatsoever  ye  loose  on  earth  is 
loosed  in  heaven  :  he  that  receiveth  you,  receiveth  me ;  and 
he  that  receiveth  me,  receiveth  him  that  sent  me  :  he  that 
despiseth  you,  despiseth  me  ;  and  he  who  despiseth  me, 
despiseth  him  that  sent  me;"  to  whom  the  Son  of  man,  on 
sitting  down  on  the  throne  of  his  glory,  gave  twelve  thrones, 
on  which  they  should  sit  and  judge,  rule  the  twelve  tribes 
of  the  spiritual  Israel ;  who,  along  with  the  inspired  pro- 
phets, are  the  foundation  on  which  the  Church  is  built,  and 
whose  names  are  represented  in  the  Apocalypse  as  engraved 

1  ' '  The  Greek  words  are  more  expressive  of  equality  than  the  English  : 
'  The  presbyters  among  you, '  he  says,  not  '  I  their  arch-presbyter  com- 
mand,' but,  'I  their  fellow-presbyter  exhort.'  And  to  what  does  he 
exhort  them  ?  To  '  feed  the  flock  of  God,  acting  the  part  of  overseers, 
not  of  lords  of  God's  heritage. '  Was  it  not,  however,  as  under  shepherds 
that  they  were  to  feed  and  guide  the  Christian  community  ?  Who,  then, 
was  the  chief  shepherd  ?  This  also  we  learn  from  his  works.  It  was 
not  Peter  himself.  It  was  Jesus  Christ,  his  and  their  common  Master. 
Nothing  here  of  that  arrogant  and  imperious  style  which  his  pretended 
successors  so  soon  assumed,  and  so  injuriously  fastened  upon  him." — 
Campbell  :  Led.  on  Ecc.  Hist.  xvii. 


PART  I.]  DUTIES  OF  THE  OFFICE-BEARERS.  219 

on  the  jewelled  foundations  of  the  New  Jerusalem.  An 
exhortation  from  such  a  quarter  was  equivalent  to  a  com- 
mand. He  that  rejected  the  apostles,  "rejected  not  men, 
but  God,  who  had  given  them  his  Spirit ;"  while  they  spoke 
as  apostles,  Christ,  and  God  in  Christ,  spoke  by  them.  An 
apostolical  exhortation  is  equivalent  to  a  divine  command.^ 

The  apostles,  though  possessed  of  this  authority,  made  no 
unnecessary  display  of  it.  It  was  generally  acknowledged 
by  the  churches  ;  and  though  they  sometimes  found  it 
requisite  to  "  command,"  as  well  as  to  exhort,  in  the  name 
of  the  Lord  Jesus,  yet  for  the  most  part,  "though  they 
might  be  much  bold  in  Christ"  to  enjoin  that  which  was 
convenient,  they  "rather,  for  love's  sake,  besought"  those 
whom  they  addressed.  The  injunction  lost  none  of  its 
intrinsic  authority  from  the  form  it  took;  and,  while  more 
agreeable  to  him  who  gave,  was  not  likely  to  be  less  influ- 
ential on  those  to  whom  it  was  given.  Peter  not  only  uses 
the  word  exhort  instead  of  command,  but,  instead  of  using 
the  official  appellation  which  was  peculiar  to  the  highest 
order  of  church  officers,  apostle,  he  employs  that  of  "  elder," 
which  in  its  most  general  acceptation  includes  all  church 
rulers.  He  does  not  take  the  name  which  distinguishes 
him  from,  but  that  which  identifies  him  with,  those  whom 
he  addresses. 

Peter  speaks  of  "  the  wisdom  given  to  his  beloved  brother 
Paul ;"  and  it  is  plain  he  himself  had  been  made  partaker 
of  the  same  spirit  of  wisdom  and  of  love.  "  I  am,"  says  the 
venerable  apostle,  '  I  am  a  co-presbyter,  a  fellow-elder.  I 
know  what  it  is  to  have  a  charge  in  the  house  of  God.  I 
have  felt  the  responsibilities  arising  out  of  the  command  to 
feed  the  sheep,  to  feed  the  lambs  of  the  great,  good  Shep- 
herd.    I  know  the  duties  of  the  Christian  pastor ;  I  know 

1  2  Cor.  V.  20  ;  Matt.  xvi.  19,  xviii.  18  ;  Matt.  x.  40  ;  John  xiii.  20  ; 
Matt.  xix.  28 ;  Eph.  ii.  20 ;  Rev.  xxi.  14. 


220  ECCLESIASTICAL  DUTIES.  [DISC.  XXL 

his  difficulties  ;  I  know  his  temptations  ;  I  know  his  joys  ; 
I  know  his  sorrows.  I  know  the  heart  of  the  Christian 
elder.  The  exhortation  comes  from  one  who  can,  who  does, 
thoroughly  sympathize  with  you.''^ 

The  kindly  condescending  address  of  the  apostle  was  cal- 
culated to  give  additional  force  to  his  exhortation  ;  and  its 
peculiar  form  is  surely  intended  to  teach  elders,  especially 
old  elders,  men  who  have  been  long  in  office  in  God's 
Church,  to  use  the  influence  which,  if  they  have  in  any 
measure  rightly  discharged  their  duty,  they  must  have 
acquired,  in  exhorting  their  fellow-elders,  especially  those 
younger  than  themselves,  to  diligence  and  fidelity  in  the 
duties  of  their  common  offices.  "  The  duty  of  mutual 
exhorting,  which  lies  on  each  Christian  to  another,  is  little 
known  amongst  the  greater  part ;  but  surely  pastors  should 
be,  as  in  other  duties  so  in  this,  eminent  and  exemplary  in 
their  intercourse  and  converse,  saying  often  one  to  another, 
'  Oh,  let  us  remember  to  what  we  are  called,  to  how  high 
and  heavy  a  charge  !  to  what  holiness  and  diligence  !  How 
great  the  hazard  of  our  miscarriage,  and  how  great  the 
reward  of  our  fidelity  !' — whetting  and  sharpening  one 
another  by 'those  weighty  and  holy  considerations."  It  is 
peculiarly  becoming  in  old  Christian  elders  to  say  to  their 
young  brethren,  especially  when  the  exhortation  is  enforced 
by  a  protracted  course  of  faithful  services  to  Christ  and  his 
Church,  "  Take  heed  to  the  ministry  which  ye  have  received 
of  the  Lord,  that  ye  fulfil  it."  Such  exhortations,  given  iu 
the  right  spirit,  seldom  fail  of  doing  good. 

(2.)  He  loas  a  witness  of  the  sufferings  of  Christ. 
To  give  further  weight  to  his  exhortation,  the  apostle  not 

^  "Est  autem  eximia  modestia,  quod  se  (xvf/.'jrpKrfiiTtpov,  ipse  nominat, 
quern  caput  et  principem  apostolorum  postea  confinxerunt,  et  vicedeiun 
adeo. " — Semler. 


PART  I.]  DUTIES  OF  THE  OFFICE-BEARERS.  221 

only  calls  himself  a  fellow-elder,  but  "  a  witness  of  the 
sufferings  of  Christ."  "  The  sufferings  of  Christ,"  which 
the  ancient  prophets  are  in  the  first  chapter  (ver.  11)  repre- 
sented as  witnesses  of,  as  testifying  about,  are  not,  as  I 
endeavoured  to  show  when  explaining  that  part  of  the 
epistle,  the  personal  sufferings  of  our  Lord,  but  the  "  suffer- 
ings until  Christ,"  or  "  the  sufferings  in  reference  to  Christ," 
as  the  words  literally  signify, — "  the  sufferings  of  the  present 
time,"  to  which  for  a  season  it  is  needful  that  Christians  be 
exposed, — as  contrasted  with  the  glory  which  is  to  follow, 
the  salvation  laid  up  in  heaven,  the  grace  to  be  brought  to 
Christians  at  the  revelation  of  our  Lord  Jesus.  And  some 
have  supposed  that  the  phrase  "  sufferings  of  Christ"  has 
the  same  meaning  here,  and  that  the  apostle  expresses  the 
same  sentiment  as  the  Apostle  Paul  to  the  Thessalonians, 
when  he  says,  "  We  told  you  before  that  we  should  suffer 
tribulation."  There  can  be  no  doubt  that  Peter  as  well  as 
Paul,  when  confirming  the  souls  of  the  disciples,  and  ex- 
horting them  to  continue  in  the  faith,  did  testify,  that 
"  tlu'ough  much  tribulation  they  must  enter  into  the  king- 
dom."^ We  find  him  doing  so  in  this  epistle,  and  this 
was  in  itself  a  good  reason  why  he  should  exhort  the  office- 
bearers to  a  conscientious  performance  of  their  duties  ;  for 
that,  important  at  all  times,  becomes  doubly  so  in  a  time  of 
trial.  But  the  expression  here  is  not  the  same  as  that  in 
""he  first  chapter,  and  seems  varied  to  show  that  it  refers  to 
Christ's  personal  sufferings,  and  not  to  the  sufferings  of  his 
body,  the  Church,  till  he  comes. 

Of  these  sufferings  Peter  was  "  a  witness."  These  words 
may  signify  that  the  sufferings  of  Christ  were  a  principal 
subject  of  Peter's  testimony  as  an  apostle.  The  apostles, 
after  they  received  power  through  the  Holy  Ghost  coming 
upon  them,  were,  according  to  their  ]\Iaster's  appointment 
1  Acts  xiv.  22. 


222  ECCLESIASTICAL  DUTIES.  [DISC.  XXI. 

and  prediction,  "  witnesses  unto  him  both  in  Jerusalem, 
and  in  all  Judea,  and  in  Samaria,  and  unto  the  uttermost 
parts  of  the  earth."  And  wherever  they  went,  the  cross 
was  the  great  theme  of  their  testimony.  The  Messiah  they 
proclaimed  was  the  crucified  Messiah,  "  a  stumbling-block 
to  the  Jews,  foolishness  to  the  Greeks  ;  but  to  the  called, 
whether  Jews  or  Greeks,  the  power  of  God,  the  wisdom  of 
God."  Peter,  judging  of  his  ministry  from  his  discourses 
recorded  in  the  Acts  of  the  Apostles  and  in  this  epistle,  had, 
as  well  as  Paul,  "  determined  to  know  nothing  among"  his 
converts  "  but  Jesus  Christ  and  him  crucified."  He  too 
could  say,  "  God  forbid  that  I  should  glory,  save  in  the 
cross  of  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  by  which  the  Avorld  is 
crucified  to  me,  and  I  to  the  world."  ^ 

It  appears  to  me,  however,  more  natural  to  understand 
the  words,  "  a  witness  of  the  sufferings  of  Jesus  Christ,"  in 
their  most  obvious  sense  as  equivalent  to,  I  saw  Jesus  Christ 
suffer.  It  is  as  if  he  had  said,  '  He  who  addresses  you,  and 
calls  on  you  to  be  faithful  to  Christ,  and  to  the  Church 
purchased  by  his  blood,  knows  well  how  strong  are  his  claims 
on  you,  how  strong  is  his  regard  for  them.  With  these  eyes 
I  have  seen  the  Eternal  Word,  the  Lord  of  glory,  a  poor, 
destitute,  afflicted,  tormented,  despised,  dying,  dead  man. 
I  heard  his  groans  in  Gethsemane.  I  saw  his  "  sweat,  as  it 
were  great  drops  of  blood,  falling  to  the  ground."  I  saw 
him  betrayed  by  one  of  his  disciples,  Judas.  I  saw  him 
deserted  by  them  all.  I  saw  him  insulted  and  abused 
before  the  high  priest.  I  saw  how  deeply  he  felt,  and  how 
tenderly  he  forgave,  my  base  denial  of  him.'  And  as  we 
can  scarcely  persuade  ourselves  that  Peter  and  the  other 
apostles  were  not  witnesses  of  the  last  scene  of  suffering,  it 
is  as  if  he  said,  '  I  saw  him  affixed,  like  a  felonious  slave, 
to  the  cross.  I  heard  the  wail  of  agony,  "  My  God,  my 
1  1  Cor.  i.  2.3 ;  Gal.  vi.  14. 


PART  I.]  DUTIES  OF  THE  OFFICE-BEARERS.  223 

God,  why  hast  thou  forsaken  me  !"  I  heard,  thouajh  I 
then  understood  it  not,  the  mysterious  parting  cry,  "  It 
is  finished."  Having  witnessed  all  this,  is  it  wonderful 
that  His  words  who  thus  suffered  for  me,  for  you,  for 
the  flock  committed  to  our  care, — that  his  words,  "  Lovest 
thou  me  ?  feed  my  lambs ;  Lovest  thou  me  ?  feed  my 
sheep  ?  Lovest  thou  me ;  feed  my  sheep," — should  be 
continually  sounding  in  my  ears,  continually  weighing  on 
my  heart,  and  that  I  should  with  deep  earnestness  exhort 
you  to  do  that  which  he  so  impressively  commanded  me 
to  dor 

"  These,  indeed,  are  things  that  give  great  weight  to  a 
man's  words,  make  them  powerful  and  pressing,  '  a  witness 
of  the  sufferings  of  Christ.'  The  apostles  had  a  singular 
advantage  in  this,  that  they  were  eye-witnesses  ;^  and  Paul, 
who  wanted  that,  had  it  supplied  by  a  vision  of  Christ  at 
his  conversion.  But  certainly  a  spiritual  view  of  Christ 
crucified  is  generally,  I  will  not  say  absolutely,  necessary  to 
make  a  minister  of  Christ.  It  is  certainly  very  requisite 
for  the  due  witnessing  of  him,  so  to  preach  the  gospel  as 
one  '  before  whose  eyes  Jesus  Christ  had  been  evidently 
set  forth  crucified.'  Men  commonly  read  and  hear,  and 
may  possibly  preach,  of  the  sufferings  of  Christ  as  a  com- 
mon story,  and  in  that  way  it  may  a  little  move  a  man  and 
wring  tears  from  his  eyes  ;  but  faith  hath  another  kind 
of  sight  of  them,  and  so  works  another  kind  of  affection. 
By  the  eye  of  faith  to  see  the  only-begotten  Son  of  God, 
as  stricken  and  smitten  of  God,  bearing  our  sorrows  and 
wounded  for  our  transo-ressions :  Jesus  Christ  the  righteous, 
reckoned  among  the  unrighteous  and  malefactors  ;  to  see 
him  stript  naked,  and  scourged,  and  buffeted,  and  reviled, 
and  dying,  and  all  for  us  :  this  is  the  thing  that  will  bind 
upon  us  most  strongly  all  the  duties  of  Christianity  and  of 


'224  ECCLESIASTICAL  DUTIES.  [DISC.  XXL 

our  callings  ;  and  best  enable  us,  according  to  our  callings, 
to  bind  them  upon  others."  ^ 

(3.)  He  was  a  partaker  of  the  glory  to  he  revealed. 

But  still  further  to  add  cogency  to  his  exhortation,  the 
apostle  styles  himself  "  a  partaker  of  the  glory  that  shall 
be  revealed."  The  glory  here  spoken  of  is  obviously  "  the 
glory  of  Christ,"  a  state  of  dignity  and  happiness  contrasted 
with  his  suffering  state.  '  I  am  not  only  a  witness  of  his 
sufferings,  but  a  partaker  of  his  glory  which  is  to  be  re- 
vealed.' Some  have  supposed  that  in  these  words  there  is 
a  reference  either  to  our  Lord's  transfiguration  or  to  his 
resurrection  state ;  as  if  Peter  had  said,  '  I  witnessed  and 
shared  his  sufferings,  and  I  have  witnessed  and  shared 
too  his  glory.  I  was  "  with  him  in  the  holy  mount,  when 
he  received  from  God  the  Father  honour  and  glory."  I, 
though  fearing,  entered  with  him  into  the  cloud  of  glory, 
from  the  midst  of  which  came  the  voice,  "  This  is  my 
beloved  Son,  in  whom  I  am  well  pleased."  And  I  too 
"  companied  with  him"  after  his  resurrection,  when  God  had 
"  raised  him  from  the  dead,  and  given  him  glory."  I  am 
one  of  those  on  whom  he  breathed  and  to  whom  he  said, 
"  Receive  ye  the  Holy  Ghost ;"  and  of  whom  he  also  said, 
"  The  glory  thou  hast  given  me  I  have  given  them."  That 
glory  is  as  yet  in  this  state  veiled.  It  is  "  hid  with  Christ 
in  God,"  but  it  will  by  and  by  be  manifested.'  ^ 

It  seems  to  me  more  natural  to  consider  the  glory  here 
referred  to  as  the  glory  of  Christ  in  the  celestial  state. 
That  glory  at  present  is  concealed,  and  shall  continue  so 
till  the  close  of  the  present  state  of  things.  The  glories  of 
the  holy  of  holies  are  hidden  from  this  outer  court  of  the 
temple  by  the  veil  of  these  visible  heavens,  through  which 
our  Lord  has  passed.  But  this  veil  shall  by  and  by  be 
1  Leighton.  2  2  Pet.  i.  lG-18  ;  Joliu  xvii.  22. 


PART  I.]  DUTIES  OF  THE  OFFICE-BEARERS.  225 

rent  asunder,  and  all  the  splendours  of  the  Inner  sanctuary- 
burst  on  the  sight  of  an  amazed  world.  "  Christ,  the  life 
of  his  people,  shall  appear"^ — be  manifested  to  be  what  he  is, 
and  they  his  people  shall  be  manifested  with  him  in  glory. 
The  day  of  his  manifestation  as  the  Son  of  God  shall  be 
the  day  of  their  manifestation  as  the  sons  of  God.  He 
shall  be  "  glorified  in  his  saints,  and  admired  in  all  them 
that  believe  ; "  and  they  shall  be  glorified  in  him,  admired 
in  him.^  His  glories  shall  be  displayed  ;  and  it  shall  be 
made  to  appear  that  the  glory  which  his  Father  has  given 
him  he  has  given  to  his  people. 

Of  this  participation  in  the  revealed  glories  of  Christ, 
Peter  was  so  persuaded  in  reference  to  himself,  that  he 
speaks  of  himself  as  already  a  "  partaker  of  the  glory  that 
shall  be  revealed."  Having  the  spirit  of  faith,  he  was  con- 
fident, "  knowing  that  he  that  raised  up  the  Lord  Jesus 
would  also  raise  up  him  by  Jesus,"  and  that  he  should  be 
for  ever  "  with  him  where  he  is,"  beholding  and  sharing 
his  glory,  so  far  as  the  thing  is  possible,  being  "glorified 
together  with  him."^  But  the  words  are  so  chosen  as 
naturally  enough  to  convey,  in  addition  to  this  thought, 
that  he  should  be  a  partaker  of  the  glory  of  Christ  at  the 
time  of  its  revelation,  the  idea  that  even  now,  amid  all  the 
imperfections  and  sorrows  of  the  present  state,  Peter  con- 
sidered himself  as  a  partaker  of  the  glory  of  Christ — that 
glory  now  concealed,  but  one  day  to  be  manifested.  He 
considered  himself  as  "  planted  together  with  Christ,"  not 
only  "  in  the  likeness  of  his  death,"  but  also  "  in  the  like- 
ness of  his  resurrection;"  as  having  fellowship  with  him 
not  only  in  his  death,  but  also  in  his  life, — "  sitting  Avith 
him,"  reigning  with  him  "  in  the  heavenly  places  ;"*  already 

1  (petnpa^^.  2  (joi_  iy_  4  .  2  Thess.  i.  10. 

■■'  2  Cor.  iv.  14  ;  John  xvii.  24  ;  Eom.  viii.  17. 
*  Rom.  vi.  5  ;  Eph.  ii.  6. 
VOL.  III.  P 


226  ECCLESIASTICAL  DUTIES.  [DISC.  XXI. 

a  partaker,  though  in  far  inferior  measure,  of  that  holiness 
and  happiness,  in  the  enjoyment  of  the  divine  favour  and 
conformity  to  the  divine  image,  in  the  perfection  of  which 
Christ's  glory  consists.  Peter  was,  and  every  Christian  in 
the  measure  of  his  faith  is,  thus  even  here  "  a  partaker  of 
the  glory  which  is  to  be  revealed." 

The  bearing  of  this  statement  as  a  motive  on  the  apostle's 
exhortation,  is  manifest  when  you  look  forward  to  its  close, 
where  he  points  to  the  crown  of  glory,  which,  when  the 
chief  Shepherd  comes,  that  is,  at  the  time  of  the  revelation 
of  his  glory,  shall  be  conferred  on  the  faithful  under  shep- 
herds. The  exhortation  of  a  man  who,  under  the  influence 
of  the  spirit  of  faith,  believes,  and  therefore  speaks,  and 
who,  when  speaking  of  the  future  rewards  of  the  faithful 
minister,  speaks  of  something  of  which  he  has  already  the 
earnest,  and  of  the  full  enjoyment  of  which  he  is  com- 
pletely assured,  is  plainly  fitted  to  be  peculiarly  impressive 
and  persuasive.  It  is  as  if  he  had  said,  "  I  speak  what  I 
do  know.      I  testify  what  I  have  seen." 

§  2.  Motives  from  co7isiderations  referring  to  the  Church. 

Let  us  now  look  at  the  motives  derived  from  considera- 
tions referring  to  the  Church.  Feed  the  Church;  it  is  the 
flock  of  God.  Superintend  the  Church  ;  it  is  the  heritage 
of  God. 

(1.)  It  is  the  flock  of  God. 

The  Church  is  the  flock  of  God,  and  every  true  member 
of  it  is  one  of  his  sheep.  This  is  one  of  the  figurative  ex- 
pressions by  which  Jehovah's  peculiar  property  in  and  care 
for  ancient  Israel  is  often  expressed.  "Ye,  my  flock,  the  flock 
of  my  pasture,  are  men^  and  I  am  your  God,  saitli  the  Lord 
God."^  Like  most  expressions  of  the  kind,  it  is  employed 
1  Ezek.  xxxiv.  31. 


PART  I.]  DUTIES  OF  THE  OFFICE-BEARERS.  227 

in  an  extended  and  elevated  sense  to  describe  the  peculiar 
relation  in  which  the  true  spiritual  Church  stands  to  God. 
They  are  his  peculiar  property,  separated  from  the  rest  of 
mankind,  saved  from  destruction  by  the  good  Shepherd 
laying  down  his  life  for  them  ;  protected  by  his  peculiar 
providence,  and  blessed  with  the  tokens  of  his  special  love. 
The  good  Shepherd,  who  laid  down  his  life  to  save  them 
from  destruction,  took  it  again  to  complete  their  salvation  : 
"  He  gathers  the  lambs  in  his  arms,  and  carries  them  in  his 
bosom ;"  "  He  feeds  them,  and  causes  them  to  lie  down. 
He  seeks  that  which  was  lost,  and  brings  again  that  which 
was  driven  away ;  and  binds  that  which  was  broken,  and 
strengthens  that  which  is  sick."  Hear  what  he  himself 
says :  "  I  give  unto  my  sheep  eternal  life,  and  they  shall 
never  perish;  neither  shall  any  pluck  them  out  of  my  hand. 
My  Father,  who  gave  them  me,  is  greater  than  all ;  and 
none  can  pluck  them  out  of  my  Father's  hand."^  Should 
not  we  count  it  a  great  honour,  and  feel  it  a  most  respon- 
sible trust,  to  have  those  who  stand  in  so  close  a  relation  to 
God,  and  in  whom  he  takes  so  peculiar  an  interest,  com- 
mitted to  our  care  ■?  Should  we  not  care  for  those  for 
whom  he  cares  1  Should  we  not  watch  for  those  for  whom 
his  Son  died? 

(2.)  It  is  Go(£s  heritage. 

Substantially  the  same  ideas  with  regard  to  the  Church 
are  suggested  by  its  being  termed  God's  heritage.  Tiie 
term  here  used  has  a  reference  to  the  manner  in  which  the 
Israelites  obtained  their  possessions,  which  were  heritages 
transmitted  from  generation  to  generation.  It  is  borrowed 
from  the  fact  that  these  possessions  were  originally  fixed  by 
lot,  so  that  lot  and  possession  are  often  in  Scripture  con- 
vertible terms.     Like  the  former  fifrure,  it  is  often  used  to 

1  Isa.  xl.  II  ;  Ezek.  xxxiv.  II-I4;  John  x.  28. 


228  ECCLESIASTICAL  DUTIES.  [DISC.  XXL 

express  Jehovah's  pecuhar  relation  to  Israel :  "  The  Lord's 
portion  is  his  people  ;  Jacob  is  the  lot  of  his  inheritance  ;"^ 
.and  both  designations  are  transferred  to  the  spiritual  Church 
under  the  new  economy.  Christians  are  called  "  the  pur- 
chased possession,"  the  peculiar  property  of  God,  "  the 
chosen  generation,  the  holy  nation,  the  peculiar  people."^ 
To  be  employed  to  take  care  of  his  ancient  people  was  a 
great  honour.  To  be  the  king  of  Israel  was  greater  honour 
than  to  be  king  of  Egypt,  Assyria,  or  Babylon.  How  far 
above  all  pagan  legislators  stands  Moses  the  servant  of  the 
Lord  !  How  low  the  rank  of  heathen  sages  compared  with 
that  of  Hebrew  prophets  !  The  most  honourable  and  re- 
sponsible situation  man  can  occupy,  is  that  of  a  teacher  and 
ruler  in  that  spiritual  family  of  which  God  is  the  head, 
Jesus  Christ  is  the  elder  brother,  and  holy  angels  the  will- 
ing ministers.  Should  not  God's  most  valued  property  be 
well  cared  for  ?  Should  not  the  education  of  his  children 
be  well  attended  to  ?  Is  there  not  great  honour  involved  in 
the  charge  being  entrusted  to  us  1  Must  there  not  be  high 
responsibility  incurred  by  our  undertaking  it?  Such  seems 
the  force  of  the  motives  derived  from  a  reference  to  the 
Church. 

It  is  but  right  to  remark,  before  leaving  this  particular, 
that  the  precise  meaning  of  the  expression  rendered  "God's 
heritage  "  is  somewhat  doubtful.  You  will  observe  the  word 
God's  is  in  italics,  which,  as  you  know,  indicates  that  there 
is  no  term  answering  to  it  in  the  original.  The  word  is  in 
the  plural — the  lots  or  possessions.  Not  lording  it  over 
"the  lots."^  The  term  lot  or  possession  in  the  singular  is 
applied  to  the  Church,  as  the  lot  or  possession  of  Jehovah ; 
but  nowhere  else  in  the  plural.  This  has  led  some  to 
suppose  that  it  refers  to  the  possessions,  the  property,  of 
the  Church;  not  treating  the  Church  property  as  if  it  were 

1  Deut.  xxxii.  9.  ^  Eph.  i.  18  ;  1  Pet.  ii.  9.  ^  gge  note  B. 


PART  I.]  DUTIES  OF  THE  OFFICE-BEARERS.  229 

their  own,  as  if  they  were  the  proprietors  of  it.  There  is 
no  reason  to  think  that  at  this  early  period  the  churches 
had  anything  Hke  fixed  property ;  and  there  is  no  proper 
contrast  in  this  case  between  the  two  obviously  antithetic 
clauses  of  the  sentence.  It  is  a  much  more  probable  opinion 
that  considers  the  lots  or  possessions  as  referring  to  the 
separate  flocks  of  different  elders  or  elderships  :^  not  lord- 
ing it  over  the  (or  their)  lots  or  possessions,  the  flocks 
allotted  to  them  by  the  great  Shepherd,  but  showing  them 
an  example.  In  this  case,  the  motive  folded  up  in  the 
phrase  is.  You  have  had  a  specific  work  assigned  you  by 
the  great  Shepherd.  Each  has  his  appointed  sphere  of 
labour.  Let  the  labourers  see  that  their  own  vineyard  be 
well  kept,  and  their  own  flock  be  well  shepherded.  Yet  a 
little  while,  and  the  great  Husbandman  will  take  account 
of  his  servants,  and  then  woe  to  the  unprofitable,  double 
woe  to  the  unfaithful,  servant ! 

§  3.  Motives  from  considerations  referring  to  the 
office-hearers  themselves. 

It  only  remains  now  that  we  attend  a  little  to  the  motives 
derived  from  a  i^eference  to  the  office-bearers  themselves. 
The  words  of  the  apostle  express  much ;  they  suggest  more. 
They  describe  the  reward  of  the  faithful  Christian  elder ; 
they  dimly  shadow  forth  the  punishment  of  the  unfaithful 
Christian  elder. 

(1.)   The  reward  of  the  faithful  Christian  elder. 

The  words  describe  the  reward  of  the  faithful  Christian 
elder :  "  He  shall  receive  a  crown  of  glory,  which  f adetli 
not  away,  when  the  chief  Shepherd  shall  appear."  Jesus 
Christ  is  the  chief  Shepherd ;  he  is  the  Shepherd  of  the 

1  "  Cleros  non  vocat  clericos,  sed  particulares  ecclesias,  quibus  singuli 
essent  i^er  sortem  vel  electiouem  pra?fecti. " — Pakeus. 


230  ECCLESIASTICAL  DUTIES.  [DISC.  XXI. 

sheep,  the  good  Shepherd,  the  great  Shepherd,  the  pro- 
prietor Shepherd,  whose  own  the  sheep  are ;  the  Shepherd 
of  the  shepherds  as  well  as  of  the  sheep.  He  is  even  now 
really  present  in  his  Church.  The  faithful  Witness  did 
not  lie  when  he  said,  "  Lo,  I  am  with  you  alway." 
"Where  two  or  three  are  gathered  together  in  my  name, 
there  am  I  in  the  midst  of  them."^ 

Plis  presence,  however,  is  spiritual,  not  bodily.  The 
heavens  have  received  him,  and  we  see  him  no  more.  But 
when  he  disappeared,  the  most  explicit  declarations  were 
given  that  he  should  reappear.  "  I  will  come  again,"  said 
he  himself,  "  and  receive  you  to  myself ;  that  where  I  am, 
there  ye  may  be  also."  "  This  same  Jesus,"  said  the  angels 
to  the  apostles,  when  they  stood  gazing  up  towards  heaven, 
in  the  clouds  of  which  their  Lord  had  just  disappeared, — 
"  This  same  Jesus,  who  is  taken  up  from  you  into  heaven, 
shall  so  come  in  like  manner  as  ye  have  seen  him  go  into 
heaven."^  This  reappearance,  which  is  to  be  a  glorious 
manifestation  of  what  he  is  both  essentially  and  officially, 
a  revelation  of  his  glory,  is  a  leading  subject  of  the  apostolic 
testimony,  and  has  been  all  along  the  great  object  of  the 
Church's  hope.  Their  "  blessed  hope"  is,  and  has  all  along 
been,  "the  glorious  appearing  of  Him  who  is  the  great 
God  and  their  Saviour."^  The  day  of  his  coming  is  to  be 
the  day  of  their  "gathering  together  to  him." 

When  He  shall  come,  he  shall  come  in  his  character  of 
the  chief  Shepherd,  to  collect  his  flock  together,  and  to 
conduct  them  all  in  a  body  into  the  heavenly  fold.  One 
j)urpose  of  his  coming  shall  be  to  take  account  of  his  under 
shepherds,  and  to  render  to  them  according  to  their  work. 
To  the  faithful,  laborious  servant,  who  has  affectionately 
and  wisely  shepherded  and  superintended,  fed  and  guided, 
the  flock  committed  to  him,  not  grudgingly,  but  cheerfully  ; 

1  Matt,  xxvii.  20,  xviii.  20.  2  Acts  i.  10,  11.         s  Tit.  ii.  13. 


PART  I.]  DUTIES  OF  THE  OFFICE-BEARERS.  231 

not  mercenarily,  but  disinterestedly  ;  not  ambitiously,  seek- 
ing to  be  a  lord,  but  humbly,  striving  to  be  an  ensample ; 
"  he  will  then  give  a  crown  of  glory  which  shall  never 
fade." 

The  language  is  figurative,  but  the  meaning  is  plain. 
He  will  visibly  reward  his  faithful  services,  by  bestowing 
on  him  a  large  measure  of  the  highest  kinds  of  happiness 
and  honour  of  which  his  nature  is  capable  ;  blessings  which 
shall  endure  for  ever,  and  for  ever  retain  undiminished 
their  power  to  satisfy  their  possessors.  In  what  the  pecu- 
liarity of  the  rewards  of  the  faithful  Christian  elder  shall 
consist,  we  can  form  but  inadequate  and  indistinct  ideas. 
There  is  much,  however,  to  lead  us  to  believe  that  a  portion, 
and  probably  no  small  portion  of  it,  is  to  consist  in  witness- 
ing the  holy  happiness  of  those  to  whose  spiritual  interests 
he  ministered  on  earth ;  and  to  know  most  certainly  that 
to  his  labours  and  instrumentality  their  happiness  has  been 
owing.  Such  is  the  view  which  the  apostle's  words  natu- 
rally lead  us  to  take  when  he  calls  the  Philippian  Christians 
his  "joy  and  his  crown;"  and  when  to  the  Thessalonians 
he  says,  "  What  is  our  hope,  or  joy,  or  crown  of  rejoicing  ? 
Are  n,ot  even  ye  in  the  presence  of  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ 
at  his  coming?  for  ye  are  our  glory  and  our  joy."^ 

The  Christian  pastor  will,  according  to  his  measure,  be 
admitted  into  the  joy  of  his  Lord  when  he  sees  the  travail 
of  his  soul  and  is  satisfied.  This  is  an  exceedino;  great 
and  a  peculiarly  appropriate  reward ;  a  reward  which  will 
be  enjoyed  just  in  proportion  as  the  individual  Christian 
pastor  has  been  filled  with  the  spirit  of  his  office,  and  dis- 
charged its  duties.  What  a  high,  what  a  holy  satisfaction, 
to  know  that  we  have  efficiently  co-operated  towards  the 
accomplishment  of  the  favourite  purpose  of  Deity,  to  recon- 
cile all  things  to  himself  by  Jesus  Christ ;  that  we  have 
1  Phil.  iv.  1  ;  1  Thess.  ii.  19. 


232  ECCLESIASTICAL  DUTIES.  [DISC.  XXI. 

been  the  means  of  saving  souls  from  death,  of  covering- 
multitudes  of  sins,  of  increasing  the  joys  of  angels,  of 
ministering  to  the  satisfaction  of  Him  who  loved  us,  and 
washed  us  from  our  sins  in  his  own  blood !  What  a 
reward ! 

To  borrow  the  words  of  the  holy  Leighton,  "It  is  a 
crown  of  glory,  pure,  unmixed  glory,  without  any  ingredi- 
ency  of  pride  or  sinful  vanity,  or  any  danger  of  it ;  and  a 
crown  that  fadeth  not,  formed  of  such  flowers  that  wither 
not ;  not  a  temporary  garland  of  fading  flowers,  as  all  here 
are.  Though  made  of  flowers  growing  in  a  rich  valley, 
their  glorious  beauty  is  fading ;  but  this  is  fresh  and  in 
perfect  lustre  to  all  eternity.  May  they  not  well  trample 
on  base  gain  and  vain  applause,  that  have  this  crown  to 
look  to  ?  Joys  of  royal  pomp,  how  soon  do  they  vanish  as 
a  dream  !  But  this  day  begins  a  triumph  and  a  feast  that 
shall  never  either  end  or  be  wearied  of.  All  things  here, 
even  the  choicest  pleasures,  cloy,  but  satisfy  not.  Those 
above  shall  always  satisfy,  but  never  cloy.  What  is  to  be 
refused  in  the  way  to  this  crown?  All  labour  for  it  is 
sweet.  And  what  is  there  here  to  be  desired  to  stay  our 
hearts,  that  we  should  not  most  willingly  let  go,  to  rest  from 
our  labours  and  receive  our  crown  ?  Was  ever  any  man 
sad  that  the  day  of  his  coronation  drew  nigh  ?  In  that  day 
when  he  on  whose  head  are  many  crow^ns  shall  bestow  many 
crowns,  there  will  be  no  envy,  no  jealousies ;  all  kings, 
each  having  his  own  crown,  and  each  rejoicing  in  the  glory 
of  another,  and  all  in  His,  who  that  day  shall  be  all  in  all." 

(2.)   The  doom  of  the  unfaithful  Christian  elder. 

These  words  of  the  apostle,  while  they  describe  the  final 
destiny  of  the  faithful  Christian  pastor,  naturally  suggest 
the  awful  truth  respecting  the  Christian  elder  who  has  not 
fed  the  flock  of  God,  who  has  not  superintended  aright  his 


PART  I.]  DUTIES  OF  THE  OFFICE-BEARERS.    .  233 

heritage.  What  is  to  become  of  him  who  has  done  his 
work  by  constraint,  not  willingly,  for  filthy  lucre,  not  of  a 
willing  mind,  who  has  lorded  it  over  God's  heritage,  and 
has  not  been  an  ensample  to  the  flock  :  shall  he  be  crowned  ? 
No ;  he  has  not  "  striven,"  or,  at  any  rate,  "  not  striven 
lawfully."  The  doom  of  the  unprofitable,  the  doom  of  the 
unfaithful  servant,  will  be  his.  Expelled  from  the  family 
of  God,  he  will  be  "  cast  into  outer  darkness  ;  there  shall  be 
weeping  and  gnashing  of  teeth."  His  portion  is  with  the 
hypocrites,  a  class  peculiarly  hateful  to  Him  who  desires 
truth  in  the  inward  part ;  with  the  perfidious,  who  have 
broken  their  engagements  both  to  God  and  to  man.  And 
it  is  his  fit  place  ;  for  the  honour  of  God,  the  cause  of  truth, 
the  interests  of  souls,  were  put  into  his  hands  :  he  accepted 
tlie  trust,  and  basely  betrayed  them  all.  In  the  prison  of 
hell,  with  "  the  basest,  the  lowermost,  the  most  dejected, 
most  underfoot  and  down-trodden  vassals  of  perdition,"^ 
must  he  have  his  everlasting  abode.  "  This  pertaineth  to 
him  as  the  portion  of  his  cup."  What  Christian  elder  can 
think  of  these  things,  can  realize  them  to  his  mind,  without 
having  new  nerve  given  to  his  resolution  to  be  "  faithful  to 
him  who  has  appointed  him;"  "faithful  to  death,"  that  he 
may  "  obtain  the  crown  of  life,"  and  escape  the  brand  of 
everlasting  shame  and  contempt ;  that  he  may  be  greeted 
with  the  invitation,  "  Well  done,  good  and  faithful  servant," 
"  come  up  hither  ;"  instead  of  meeting  the  heart-withering 
denunciation,  "Depart,  depart,  I  never  knew  you?"  You 
called  me  Lord  ;  but  I  never  considered  you  as  my  servant, 
for  I  knew  you  were  not. 

Thus  have  I  brought  to  a  close  my  illustrations  of  the 
first  part  of  this  paragraph,  that  part  of  it  which  refers  to 
the  duties  of  the  office-bearers  of  the  Christian  Church  to 
those  committed  to  their  care.     But  ere  proceeding  fm-ther, 

1  Milton. 


234  ECCLESIASTICAL  DUTIES.  [DISC.  XXI. 

I  would  press  on  my  own  mind,  and  on  the  minds  of  my 
brethren  in  the  eldership  in  this  congregation,  the  solemn 
considerations  which,  in  the  illustration  of  this  passage  of 
Scripture,  have  been  placed  before  us.  Let  us  remember 
that  this  word  of  exhortation  is  as  really  addressed  to  us  as 
it  was  to  those  to  whom  the  epistle  was  originally  written. 
Let  us  humble  ourselves  under  the  consciousness  how  very 
imperfectly  we  have  discharged  the  inestimably  important 
duties  of  our  most  responsible  situation.  Let  us  cast  our- 
selves on  our  Master's  kindness,  for  the  forgiveness  of  all 
that  has  been  wantincj  and  wroncj  in  our  official  conduct : 
and  while  in  our  inmost  hearts  saying,  "  Who  is  sufficient 
for  these  things?"  let  us,  undiscouraged  though  not  un- 
warned by  our  former  failures,  cherish  an  ever-growing 
resoluteness  of  determination,  by  his  grace,  to  be  "  stedfast 
and  unmoveable,  always  abounding  in  the  work  of  our 
Lord,"  assured  that  our  labours  shall  not  be  in  vain  in  the 
Lord. 

Holy  brethren,  partakers  of  this  high  vocation,  elders, 
suffer  the  words  of  exhortation  from  one  who  also  is  an 
elder.  They  shall  be  the  words  of  the  holy  apostles  of  our 
common  Lord  :  "  I  charge  you  before  God,  and  the  Lord 
Jesus  Christ,  and  the  elect  angels,  that  ye  take  heed  to 
yourselves,  and  to  all  the  flock  over  which  the  Holy  Ghost 
has  made  you  overseers.  Hold  the  mystery  of  faith  in  a 
pure  conscience.  Be  examples  to  the  believers  in  word,  in 
conversation,  in  charity,  in  spirit,  in  faith,  in  purity.  Let 
no  man  despise  you.  O  men  of  God,  flee  pride,  strife, 
evil  surmisings,  perverse  disputings,  and  that  love  of  money 
which  is  the  root  of  all  evil.  Follow  after  righteousness, 
godliness,  faith,  love,  patience,  meekness.  Fight  the  good 
fight  of  faith ;  lay  hold  on  eternal  life.  Hold  fast  the 
form  of  sound  words.  Hold  fast  what  you  have  attained  ; 
let  no  man  take  your  crown.     I  give  you  charge  in  the 


PART  II.]         DUTIES  OF  MEMBERS  OF  THE  CHURCH,  235 

sight  of  God,  who  quickeneth  all  things,  and  before  Christ 
Jesus,  who  before  Pontius  Pilate  witnessed  a  good  confes- 
sion, that  ye  observe  these  things,  without  preferring  one 
before  another,  doing  nothing  by  partiality.  Keep  this 
commandment  without  spot,  unrebukeable,  until  the  ap- 
pearing of  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ :  which  in  his  times  he 
shall  show,  who  is  the  blessed  and  only  Potentate,  the  King 
of  kings,  and  the  Lord  of  lords ;  who  only  hath  immortality, 
dwelling  in  the  light  which  no  man  can  approach  unto ; 
whom  no  man  hath  seen,  neither  can  see  :  to  whom  be 
honour  and  power  everlasting.     Amen."  ^ 


II.    OF  THE  DUTIES  OF  THE  MEMBERS  OF  THE  CHRISTIAN 
CHURCH  TO  THEIR  OFFICE-BEARERS. 

I  go  on  now  to  call  your  attention  to  the  view  which  the 
text  gives  us  of  the  duties  of  the  members  of  Christian 
churches  towards  their  office-bearers.  This  is  contained 
in  the  first  clause  of  the  5th  verse:  "Likewise,  ye  younger, 
submit  yourselves  to  the  elder."  Before  proceeding  further, 
however,  it  will  be  proper  that  I  endeavour  to  satisfy  you 
that  these  words  are  indeed  an  injunction  of  the  duties  of 
church  members  to  their  office-bearers,  and  not,  as  many 
have  supposed,  of  the  duties  of  the  young  to  the  aged. 
Were  we  merely  looking  at  the  words,  without  taking  into 
consideration  the  connection  in  which  they  are  introduced, 
this  last  mode  of  viewing  them  would  probably  be  that 
which  would  first  occur  to  every  reader.  But  it  requires 
only  a  little  reflection  to  see,  first,  that  the  connection  by 
no  means  leads  us  to  expect  here  an  injunction  of  the  duties 
of  the  young  to  the  aged,  and  that  the  language  by  no 
means  obliges  us  thus  to  understand  it ;  and  secondly,  that 

1  2  Tim.  iv.  1  ;  Acts  xx.  28  ;  1  Tim.  i.  19,  iii.  9,  iv.  12 ;  Tit.  ii.  15  ; 
1  Tim.  vi.  11,  12  ;  2  Tim.  i.  1.3  ;  Eev.  iii.  11  ;  1  Tim.  vi.  13-16. 


236  ECCLESIASTICAL  DUTIES.  [DISC.  XXI. 

the  connection  does  lead  us  to  expect  an  injunction  of  tlie 
duties  of  the  private  members  of  the  Church,  as  contradis- 
tinguished from  the  office-bearers  ;  and,  still  further,  that 
while  there  is  nothing  in  the  language  which  is  inconsistent 
with  this  mode  of  interpretation,  there  is  something  which 
cannot  be  satisfactorily  explained  on  any  other  supposition. 

There  can  be  no  doubt  that  the  first  four  verses  of  the 
chapter  refer  to  the  duties  of  Christian  office-bearers  ;  and 
as  little,  that  the  injunction  in  the  5tli  verse  has  a  close 
connection  with  the  injunctions  contained  in  these  verses, — 
a  connection  intimated  by  the  connective  particle  "like- 
wise;"^ a  word  which  seems  to  intimate  that  the  duties 
enjoined  are  correlative,  or,  at  any  rate,  belong  to  the  same 
general  family  of  duties.  In  enjoining  domestic  duties,  after 
stating  the  duties  of  servants,  the  apostle  says,  "  Likewise, 
ye  wives,  be  in  subjection  to  your  own  husbands ;"  and  after 
stating  the  duties  of  wives,  he  says,  "  Likeioise,  ye  husbands, 
dwell  with  your  wives  according  to  knowledge,  giving  honour 
unto  the  wife,  as  unto  the  weaker  vessel,  and  as  being  heirs 
together  of  the  grace  of  life  ;  that  your  prayers  be  not 
hindered."^  The  word  certainly  leads  you  to  expect  the 
injunction  of  some  kindred,  some  ecclesiastical  duty,  not  the 
injunction  of  a  duty  belonging  to  an  entirely  different  class. 

It  is  the  ordinary  practice  of  the  apostles,  a  practice 
plainly  dictated  by  the  proprieties  of  the  case,  to  enjoin 
the  duties  rising  out  of  mutual  relations  in  succession : 
thus,  "  Wives,  submit  yourselves  to  your  own  husbands  ; 
husbands,  love  your  wives."  "Children,  obey  your  parents; 
fathers,  provoke  not  your  children  to  anger."     "  Servants, 

1  'OfAo'iMs  manifeste  ostendit  eosdem  hie  significari  presbyteros  :  sicut 
antea  Petrus  de  presbyterorum  erga  suas  oves,  sic  nuuc  de  ovium  erga 
suos  -TrfoiaTZ'Tce.i  officio  disserit :  quamobrem  etiam  recte  Synis  intei-jares 
addidit  affixum  vesfris. — Beza. 

2  1  Pet.  iii.  1,  7. 


PART  II]        DUTIES  OF  MEMBERS  OF  THE  CHURCH.  237 

be  obedient  to  them  that  are  your  masters  ;  masters,  do  the 
same  thing  to  them."^  When,  therefore,  we  meet  with  an 
injunction  to  elders  to  do  their  duty  to  a  certain  class  clearly 
defined,  and  then  find  a  certain  class,  not  quite  so  clearly 
defined,  called  on  to  do  their  duty  to  elders,  we  naturally 
conclude  that  the  objects  of  the  first  exhortations  are  the 
subjects  of  the  second,  and  not  some  other  class  altogether. 

Had  the  office-bearers  been  represented  as  spiritual 
fathers,  and  had  the  injunction  run  thus,  'Fathers  in 
Christ,  carefully  superintend  and  instruct  the  family  of 
God  committed  to  your  care;'  and  been  followed  by  the 
command,  'Likewise,  ye  children,  be  submissive  to  the 
fathers ; '  would  not  every  one  at  once  have  seen  that,  in 
the  latter  clause,  it  was  not  the  duty  of  children  to  their 
parents  that  was  enjoined,  but  that  of  spiritual  children  to 
their  spiritual  fathers — in  other  Avords,  of  the  members  of 
the  Church  to  the  office-bearers  of  the  Church? 

It  seems  very  unnatural,  without  a  strong  reason,  to 
suppose  the  elders  of  the  5th  verse  to  be  a  different  class  of 
men  from  the  elders  of  the  1st  verse  ;^  and  if  they  are  the 
same  class,  it  seems  strange  that  young  persons  alone  should 
be  called  on  to  perform  to  them  a  duty  which  is  owing  to 
them  by  all  to  whom  they  stand  in  official  relation.  Be- 
sides, had  the  apostle  meant  to  enjoin  the  duties  of  the 
young  to  the  old,  he  would  have  used  some  other  word  for 
the  old  than  that  Avhich  he  has  just  used  to  express  office. 
Still  further,  the  duty  enjoined  is  one  due  to  all  official 
elders,  from  their  office ;  and  not  due  to  any  old  man, 
merely  from  his  age.  It  is  not  submission,  but  respect, 
that  is  due  from  the  young  to  the  old.  "  Thou  shalt  rise 
up  before  the  hoary  head,  and  honour  the  face  of  the  old 
man,  and  fear  thy  God;  I  am  the  Lord."^ 

1  Eph.  V.  22,  25,  vi.  1,  4,  5,  9  ;  Col.  iii.  18-22,  iv.  1. 

2  UpurfiuTipoi.  3  Lev.  xix.  32. 


238  ECCLESIASTICAL  DUTIES.  [DISC.  XXI. 

We  consider  ourselves,  then,  as  not  only  warranted,  but 
shut  up,  to  interpret  "  the  younger,"  or  the  juniors  here,  as 
a  general  name  for  the  ordinary  church  members,  as  contra- 
distinguished from  their  elders,  in  the  same  way  as  they  are 
termed  sheep,  or  a  flock,  when  their  office-bearers  are  termed 
shepherds ;  scholars,  or  disciples,  when  they  are  termed 
teachers ;  and  as  John  the  elder  speaks  of  his  converts  as 
his  children,  "  I  have  no  greater  joy  than  to  hear  that  my 
children  walk  in  truth."  ^  I  am  not  aware  of  the  designa- 
tion "  younger "  being  used  in  any  other  part  of  the  New 
Testament  in  the  sense  which  it  seems  to  bear  here,  though 
there  is  a  passage  where  it  is  employed  in  a  somewhat 
analogous  way :  "  He  that  is  greatest  among  you,  let  him 
be  as  the  younger ;  and  he  that  is  chief,  as  he  that  doth 

55  2 

serve. 

That  the  younger  here  are  those  who  stand  in  some 
relation  to  the  presbyters  or  elders  just  mentioned,  is  so 
evident,  and  its  reference  to  the  young  in  age  is  so  un- 
natural,^ that  we  find  a  number  of  commentators  supposing 
that  the  terra  refers  to  the  six  inferior  orders  of  clergy,*  as 
they  were  called,  after  the  simplicity  of  the  primitive  Chris- 
tian polity  was  departed  from  ;  and  that  submission  referred 
to  their  duties  to  the  bishops.  The  use  of  such  an  expres- 
sion for  church  members  was  natural  in  the  primitive  times, 
when  their  official  elders  were  generally  not  young  men, 
certainly  not  young  Christians  ;  it  being  matter  of  statute 
that  the  elders  should  not  be  novices,  but  tried  men,  old 
disciples;  so  that  the  great  body  of  the  church  members 
were  both  naturally  and  spiritually  their  juniors.  Indeed 
still,  in  ordinary  cases,  the  great  body  of  the  members  of  a 
church  are  younger  than  their  elders. 

On  the  supposition  that  the  younger,  the  juniors,  are  the 

1  3  John  4.  2  Luke  xxii.  2G. 

3  See  note  C.  *  Salmeron. 


PART  II.]        DUTIES  OF  MEMBERS  OF  THE  CHURCH.  239 

private  members  of  the  Church,  the  whole  passage  has  a 
character  of  close  connection  and  complete  consistency. 
We  have  first  the  duties  of  the  office-bearers  ;  then  the 
duty  of  the  private  members  of  the  Church  to  their  office- 
bearers ;  and  then  the  duty  of  all  connected  with  the 
Church,  whether  officers  or  private  members,  clearly  stated 
and  powerfully  enforced.  The  duties  enjoined  are  just  the 
duties  belonging  to  those  who  respectively  occupy  those 
ecclesiastical  relations.  On  the  other  supposition  all  is 
disjointed.  An  injunction  of  the  duties  of  Christian  pastors 
is  followed  by  an  injunction  of  the  duties  of  the  young  to 
the  old ;  and  this  followed  by  an  injunction  of  the  duty 
which  every  man  owes  to  every  man.  And  the  duties  en- 
joined in  the  two  last  cases  are  not  those  which  we  expect : 
for  though  the  young  are  bound  to  respect  the  aged,  they 
are  not  bound  to  submit  to  them ;  and  though  every  man 
is  to  be  kind  and  just  to  every  other  man,  every  man  is 
not  bound  to  be  subject  to  every  man  ;  though  there  is  an 
important  sense  in  which  every  Christian  man  should  be 
subject  to  every  other  Christian  man,  every  church  mem- 
ber to  every  other  church  member.  Even  Leighton,  who 
follows  the  common  mode  of  interpretation,  acknowledges 
that  the  words  have  "some  aspect  to  the  relation  of 
those  that  are  under  the  discipline  and  government  of  the 
elders."  The  good  Archbishop  was  forgetful  of  the  wise 
saying  of  Dr  Owen  :  "  If  Scripture  have  more  meanings 
than  one,  it  has  no  meaning  at  all."  If  the  younger  means 
the  members  of  the  Church,  it  cannot  mean  the  young 
properly  so  called. 

Having  thus  ascertained  that  the  injunction  before  us  is 
an  injunction  to  church  members  to  perform  their  duty  to 
their  office-bearers,  let  us  proceed  now  to  inquire  into  the 
meaning  of  the  injunction.  What  is  the  duty  of  church 
members  to  their  office-bearers,  as  here  described  ?     The 


240  ECCLESIASTICAL  DUTIES.  [DISC.  XXI. 

duty  here  enjoined  Is  substantially  the  same  as  that  enjoined 
by  the  Apostle  Paul,  in  his  Epistles  to  the  Thessalonians 
and  Hebrews :  "  We  beseech  you,  brethren,  to  know,  or 
acknowledge,  them  which  labour  among  you,  and  are  over 
you  in  the  Lord,  and  admonish  you ;  and  to  esteem  them 
very  highly  in  love  for  their  work's  sake."  "  Obey  them 
that  have  the  rule  over  you,  and  submit  yourselves ;  for 
they  watch  for  3^our  souls,  as  they  who  must  give  account ; 
that  they  may  do  it  with  joy,  and  not  with  grief  :  for  that 
is  vinprofitable  for  you."^ 

It  is  quite  plain  from  these  passages,  that  obedience  and 
submission  are  required  from  church  members  to  their 
office-bearers.  It  is  unhappily  too  certain,  that  much  mis- 
chief has  been  done,  and  much  good  prevented,  by  church 
officers  assuming  a  power  and  authority  that  do  not  belong 
to  them,  but  to  the  one  Lord,  and  encroaching  on  the 
liberties  which  every  Christian  possesses  in  unalienable 
right,  by  virtue  of  the  gift  of  this  one  Lord ;  and  by  church 
members  impiously  permitting  such  an  usurpation,  and 
tamely  submitting  to  such  encroachments  on  their  privi- 
leges. But  it  is  just  as  unhappily  notorious,  that  much 
mischief  has  been  done,  and  much  good  prevented,  in  the 
Christian  Church,  by  anarchy  as  well  as  tyranny :  by 
church  members  refusing  to  obey  them  that  are  over  them 
in  the  Lord,  and  by  church  officers  allowing  themselves  to 
be  denuded  of  the  authority  with  which  their  Master  has 
clothed  them,  and  without  the  exercise  of  which  the  great 
and  salutary  ends  of  their  office  cannot  be  gained.' 

A  Christian  church  is  a  very  free  society ;  but  they  mis- 
take the  matter  who  consider  it  as  a  democracy.  It  is  a 
monarchy,  administered  by  inferior  magistrates,  chosen  by 
their  fellow-subjects,  who  are  to  execute  the  King's  laws, 
being  guided  solely  by  his  word,  and  neither  by  their  own 
1  I  Thess.  V.  12,  13  ;  Heb.  xiii.  17. 


PART  II.]        DUTIES  OF  MEMBERS  OF  THE  CHURCH.  241 

judgment  or  caprice,  nor  by  the  opinions  and  will  of  those 
whom  they  govern.  Christ  is  the  Lord,  and  he  administers 
liis  government  by  officers  appointed  according  to  his  ordi- 
nance, and  regulated  by  his  laws.  It  is  of  great  import- 
ance, both  to  the  office-bearers  and  private  members  of  a 
Christian  church,  that  they  have  distinct  scriptural  views 
on  this  subject,  that  the  former  may  not  exact  what  they 
have  no  right  to,  and  that  the  latter  may  not  refuse  what, 
by  the  law  of  Christ,  they  are  bound  to  give. 

It  is  an  elementary  principle  in  the  Christian  polity,  that 
the  office-bearers  of  every  Christian  church  should  be  chosen 
by  the  members  of  that  church.  No  man  should  become 
an  office-bearer  in  the  Christian  Church,  but  thus  by  the 
suffrage  of  his  brethren  ;  and  every  individual,  in  joining 
a  Christian  church  which  has  office-bearers,  by  doing  so 
chooses  them  as  his  ecclesiastical  superiors.  Pastors  and 
teachers  are  Christ's  gifts.^  The  Holy  Ghost  constitutes 
all  true  ecclesiastical  overseers  ;"  but  he  does  this,  not  by 
miraculous  interposition,  but  by  endowing  them  with  the 
suitable  qualifications,  and  inclining  their  brethren  to  call 
them  to  the  exercise  of  these  gifts.  The  primitive  Church 
elected  their  own  officers.  The  apostles  ordained  them, 
but  those  ordained  by  them  were  chosen  by  the  brethren.'^ 

The  power  of  election  was  with  them,  and  continued  to 
be  so  till  the  Church  became  so  corrupted  as  scarcely  to 
deserve  the  name.  So  important  is  this  consideration,  in 
my  apprehension,  that  I  could  not  plead  for  obedience  or 
submission  as  an  ecclesiastical  duty  from  Christian  men  in 
their  social  capacity,  to  a  person  imposed  on  them  from 
without,  either  by  civil  or  ecclesiastical  authority.  Non- 
intrusion is  the  fundamental  principle  of  the  administrative 
polity  of  the  Christian  Church.  Where  a  man,  claiming 
rightly  or  wrongly  the  character  of  an  elder  in  Christ's 
1  Epk  iv.  11.  2  Acts  XX.  28.  3  Acts  vi.  3,  4. 

VOL.  III.  Q 


242  ECCLESIASTICAL  DUTIES.  [DISC.  XXI. 

Church,  is  not  chosen  explicitly  or  implicitly  by  me  to  be 
over  me  in  the  Lord,  I  am  not  bound  to  submit  to  him  as 
my  pastor. 

Even  to  those  elders  whom  the  members  of  a  church 
have  explicitly  or  implicitly  chosen  to  be  their  elders,  the 
obedience  due  is  obedience  within  certain  clearly  defined 
limits.  It  is  only  in  the  discharge  of  the  duties  of  their 
office  that  they  are  to  be  submitted  to  ;  and  even  in  the 
discharge  of  these  duties,  they  are  to  be  submitted  to  only 
as  far  as  they  administer  the  law  of  the  one  Lord.  It  is 
not  to  the  arbitrary  will  of  your  elders  that  you  are  bound 
to  submit.  It  is  to  them  declaring  and.  executing  the  will 
of  Christ.^  "  Pastors"  (that  is,  elders),  says  Mr  Fuller, 
"  are  that  to  a  chui'ch  which  the  executive  powers  or  magis- 
trates of  a  free  country  are  to  the  people  at  large — the 
organs  of  the  law.  Submission  to  them  is  submission  to  the 
law."  If  elders  teach  doctrine  inconsistent  with  the  doctrine 
of  Christ,  or  enjoin  anything  inconsistent  with  his  law,  they 
are  not  to  be  submitted  to,  but  on  the  contrary  opposed, — 
opposed  to  the  face,  for  they  are  to  be  blamed.  But  when 
the  Christian  eldership  keep  themselves  within  the  proper 
bounds  of  their  office,  it  is  the  duty  of  all  private  members 
of  the  society  to  submit  to  and  obey  them  ;  and  they  cannot 
do  otherwise  without  disturbing  the  peace  of  the  society, 
interfering  with  the  edification  both  of  themselves  and  of 
their  fellow  church  members,  and  drawing  down  upon 
themselves  that  disapprobation  with  which  the  one  Lord, 
who  is  the  author  of  order  and  not  confusion,  must  regard 
all  who  resist  his  ordinances. 

1  "  This  power"  (the  power  given  to  church  officers)  "  is  wholly  mini- 
sterial, without  domination,  without  coaction ;  and,  therefore,  one  of 
the  requisites  of  a  bishop  is — 'he  must  be  no  striker  :'  he  has  no  arms 
put  into  his  hands  for  this  purpose  ;  the  ecclesiastical  state  being  fur- 
nished '  auctoritate  suadendi  magis  quam  jubendi  potestate. ' " — Jer. 
Taylor,  Ductor  Dubitantium. 


PART  II  ]        DUTIES  OF  MEMBERS  OF  THE  CHURCH.  243 

The  truth  on  the  subject  of  church  authority  has  never 
been  better  stated  than  by  the  learned  and  judicious  Dr 
Owen :  "  The  obedience  due  to  church  rulers  is  not  a  blind, 
implicit  obedience.  A  pretence  hereof  has  been  abused  to 
the  ruin  of  the  souls  of  men ;  but  there  is  nothing  more 
contrary  to  the  whole  nature  of  gospel  obedience,  which  is 
our  reasonable  service.  It  has  respect  unto  them  in  their 
office  only,  and  while  they  teach  the  things  which  the  Lord 
Christ  hath  appointed  them  to  teach  :  when  they  depart 
from  these,  there  is  neither  obedience  nor  submission  due 
to  them.  Wherefore,  in  the  performance  of  these  duties, 
there  is  supposed  a  judgment  to  be  made  of  what  is  enjoined 
or  taught  by  the  word  of  God.  Our  obedience  unto  them 
must  be  obedience  to  God.  On  these  suppositions  their 
word  is  to  be  obeyed,  and  their  rule  submitted  to,  not  only 
because  they  are  true  and  right  materially,  but  also  because 
they  are  theirs,  and  conveyed  from  them  unto  us  by  divine 
institution."  ^ 

Keeping  these  general  remarks  in  view,  let  us  proceed 
to  consider  a  little  more  particularly  what  is  included  in  that 
submissive  obedience  which  the  Christian  people,  according 
to  the  law  of  the  Lord,  owe  to  the  office-bearers  whom  they 
themselves  have  chosen.  And  here,  with  a  reference  to  the 
view  taken  of  the  official  duties  of  the  eldership  in  a  former 
part  of  this  discourse,  I  shall  show,  in  succession,  how  the 
members  of  the  Church  are  to  submit  themselves  to  the 
elders  teaching,  and  to  the  elders  superintending  or  govern- 
ing. But  before  entering  on  this  illustration,  I  have  to 
solicit  your  attention  for  a  moment  to  two  things  which 
may  be  considered  as  necessary  prerequisites,  in  order  to 
any  individual  rightly  discharging  his  duty  to  the  eldership 
in  either  of  these  aspects.  These  are,  first,  a  reverence  for 
church  government  as  an  ordinance  of  Christ ;  and  secondly, 
1  Owen  on  the  Hebrews,  vol.  iv.  p.  260.     Fol.  eel. 


244  ECCLESIASTICAL  DUTIES.  [DISC.  XXI. 

a  respect  for  the  persons  who,  in  the  church  of  which  the 
individual  is  a  member,  are  invested  with  office. 

§  1.  Preliminao'y  requisites  to  the  discharge  of  the  duty  of 
subjection  to  elders. 

(1.)   Conviction  of  the  divine  authority  of  church  order. 

To  fit  a  man  for  the  right  discharge  of  the  duty  here 
enjoined,  it  is  not  necessary  that  he  should  be  persuaded 
that  every  arrangement  in  the  church  with  which  he  is  con- 
nected is  of  divine  authority ;  but  it  is  of  great  importance 
that  he  should  be  persuaded  that  the  Christian  Church  is  a 
divine,  not  a  human  institution  ;  and  that  its  office-bearers, 
properly  chosen,  are  authorized  by  its  divine  Head  to  exe- 
cute his  laws  and  administer  his  ordinances.  Without 
such  a  conviction,  ecclesiastical  obedience,  as  a  religious 
duty,  is  impossible.  The  individual  may  comply  with  the 
arrangements  as  expedient ;  but  he  must  feel  himself  at 
liberty,  whenever  he  thinks  them  inexpedient,  which  is 
nearly  equivalent  to  whenever  he  feels  them  to  be  incon- 
venient, to  decline  compliance  with  them.  A  Christian 
church  is  a  voluntary  society,  inasmuch  as  no  man  can 
lawfully  be  compelled  either  to  enter  into  its  fellowship  or 
to  continue  in  it ;  but  it  is  not  a  voluntary  society,  either  in 
the  sense  that  a  Christian  man  can,  without  impropriety, 
continue  unconnected  with  it,  or,  having  connected  him- 
self wath  it,  is  not  bound  to  submit  to  the  laws  of  its  Lord 
and  King,  administered  by  office-bearers  appointed  accord- 
ing to  his  revealed  will. 

A  great  deal  of  the  insubordination  which  prevails  in 
Christian  churches  originates  in  the  want  of  just  views  and 
settled  convictions  on  this  point.  It  is  certainly  true  of 
ecclesiastical  government,  in  a  higher  sense  than  of  civil 
government,  that  it  is  "  of  God;"  and  that  "  he  who  resists 


PART  II.]    DUTIES  OF  MEMBERS  OF  THE  CHURCH.        245 

it,"  in  the  performance  of  its  legitimate  functions,  "  resists 
the  ordinance  of  God,  and  receives  to  himself  condemna- 
tion." And  this  holds  good,  whatever  form  ecclesiastical 
government  may  assume,  provided  only  the  rights  of  Jesus 
Christ  as  the  Head  of  the  Church,  and  the  privileges  of  his 
people,  the  members  of  it,  are  secured. 

(2.)  Personal  respect  for  those  invested  loitli  ojice. 

Inferior  in  importance  to  this,  but  only  inferior  to  it,  is 
the  second  prerequisite  to  the  right  discharge  of  the  duty 
of  submission  or  obedience  to  church  officers :  A  personal 
respect  for  the  individuals  invested  with  office.  To  dis- 
charge the  duties  of  civil  obedience  without  this,  is  difficult. 
Without  this,  to  discharge  the  duties  of  ecclesiastical  obedi- 
ence, is  impossible.  No  man  ought  to  become  a  member  of 
a  church  where  the  office-bearers,  as  a  body,  do  not  command 
his  respect  for  their  personal  qualifications.  He  sports  with 
his  own  edification  if  he  does  so.  Nor  ought  he  to  continue 
a  member  of  a  church  where,  as  a  body,  they  forfeit  their 
claims  on  his  respect.  This  is  obvious  ;  for  how,  in  this 
case,  can  he  have  Christian  fellowship  with  them  ? 

In  churches,  in  any  good  measure  rightly  constituted,  the 
office-bearers  are  likely  to  be  men  worthy  of  esteem  for 
their  own  sake,  as  well  as  for  their  work's  sake.  If  they  are 
not,  it  must  reflect  much  discredit  on  those  who  placed  them 
in  a  situation  so  prominent  and  so  responsible ;  a  station 
which  men  of  low  Christian  attainments,  and  doubtful 
spiritual  character,  cannot  occupy  without  dishonour  to 
Christianity,  and  injury  to  the  edification  of  the  Church. 
This  consideration  ought  to  have  a  powerful  effect  on  the 
minds  of  church  members  in  electing  office-bearers,  and  of 
Christians  fixing  on  a  particular  religious  society  with  which 
permanently  to  connect  themselves.  They  ought  to  see  to  it 
that  the  elders  of  the  church  they  belong  to  be  such  men,  as 


246  ECCLESIASTICAL  DUTIES.  [DISC.  XXI. 

that  nothing  in  their  private  character  and  deportment  shall 
throw  obstacles  in  the  way  of  the  discharge  of  the  duty  due 
to  them  as  public  officers ;  but  that,  on  the  contrary,  the  re- 
spect which  they  cannot  but  feel  for  their  worth  as  Christian 
brethren,  shall  make  it  a  very  easy  thing  to  render  to  them 
the  honour  and  submission  due  to  them  as  Christian  elders. 

§  2.  Subjection  to  the  elders  as  teachers. 

Let  me  now  a  little  more  particularly  consider  what  this 
honour  and  submission  is,  in  reference  to  the  two  great 
departments  of  the  elders'  official  duty,  explained  in  a 
former  part  of  this  discourse :  Teaching  and  superintend- 
ence. And  first,  of  the  submission  which  church  members 
owe  to  their  elders  as  teachers.  Now,  church  members  are 
certainly  not  bound  to  believe  everything  their  elders  teach, 
nor  to  do  everything  they  enjoin ;  nay,  they  are  not  bound 
to  believe  anything  they  teach,  merely  because  they  teach  it 
— to  do  anything  they  enjoin,  merely  because  they  enjoin  it. 
But  they  are  bound  to  submit  to  their  teaching,  both  by 
regularly  and  conscientiously  waiting  on  their  instructions, 
and  by  receiving  these  instructions  in  the  candid,  humble 
spirit  of  discipleship. 

Attendance  on,  and  attention  to,  his  teaching,  is  what 
every  Christian  teaching  elder  is  entitled  to  from  those 
under  his  care.  It  is  the  duty  of  the  Christian  teacher  to 
"  wait  on  his  teaching."  ^  The  Christian  teaching  elder 
who,  without  a  very  sufficient  reason,  is  not  in  his  own 
place  when  the  church  assembles  to  observe  the  ordinances 
of  Christ,  among  which  attention  to  the  doctrine  of  the 
apostles  is  one  of  the  most  important,  is  in  fault.  He  ought 
to  be  there,  prepared  to  expound  and  enforce  the  doctrine 
and  law  of  the  Lord,  like  a  householder  with  a  well-fur- 
nished store,  out  of  which  he  is  ready  to  distribute  "  things 
1  Rom.  xii.  7. 


PART  II.]        DUTIES  OF  MEMBERS  OF  THE  CHURCH.  247 

new  and  old,"'  "  to  give  to  each  of  the  household  his  portion 
in  due  season."  But  the  same  authority  which  requires  the 
elders  to  be  present  to  teach,  requires  tlie  brethren  to  be 
present  to  be  taught.  The  pulpit  must  not  only  be  filled, 
but  in  every  case  where  there  is  not  a  sufficient  reason  for 
absence,  filled  by  its  proper  occupant ;  and  so  ought  the 
pew.  Regular  attendance  on  the  public  instructions  of  the 
teaching  elders  is  the  fundamental  part  of  submission  to 
them.  If  you  do  not  hear  your  own  elders,  how  can  you  be 
taught  by  them  so  as  to  be  "obedient  to  them  in  the  Lord?" 
And  it  is  of  importance  that  there  should  be  attendance  at 
the  hour  as  well  as  on  the  day  of  public  instruction.  Punc- 
tuality as  well  as  regularity  should  be  attended  to.  It 
should  be  said  of  every  Christian  assembly  as  of  Peter's 
congregation  in  the  house  of  Cornelius,  when  the  minister 
rises  to  address  them,  "  They  are  all  present  before  God,  to 
hear  all  things  that  are  commanded  him  of  God."  ^ 

The  remark  respecting  attendance  on  the  instruction  of 
the  elders  applies  not  only  to  their  public  teaching,  but  also 
to  their  ministrations  from  house  to  house.  It  is  obviously 
the  duty  of  the  church  members,  so  far  as  it  is  practicable, 
to  afford  the  elders  an  opportunity  of  giving  them  those 
instructions  more  appropriate  to  their  individual  character 
and  circumstances,  which  it  would  be  unsuitable  to  com- 
municate in  public  addresses. 

But  there  must  be  attention  as  well  as  attendance ; 
church  members  must  show  their  submission  to  their  elders' 
teaching,  not  only  by  a  regular  personal  waiting  on  their 
instructions,  but  also  by  giving  them  the  ready  attention 
and  the  respectful  consideration  they  deserve.  They  are  to 
listen,  and  to  listen  not  in  the  temper  of  captious  critics,  but 
of  humble  docile  disciples ;  as  persons  who  are  come  to  learn 
the  doctrine  and  law  of  the  Lord,  and  who  consider  the 
1  Acts  X.  33. 


248  ECCLESIASTICAL  DUTIES.  [DISC.  XXL 

teaching  eldership  as  his  appointed  ordinance  for  bringing 
and  keeping  this  doctrine  and  law  before  their  mind.  It  is 
one  of  the  many  advantages  of  a  stated  ministry,  that  they 
who  have  placed  themselves  imder  it  are  in  a  great  measure 
freed  from  temptation  to  indulge  in  that  critical  mode  of 
hearing,  in  which  the  hearer  acts  the  part  rather  of  the 
judge  than  of  the  disciple  ;  seeking  to  form  an  opinion 
respecting  the  powers  of  the  mind,  the  orthodoxy  of  the 
doctrine,  or  the  qualities  of  the  style  and  manner  of  the 
preacher,  rather  than  to  derive  spiritual  improvement. 
The  church  member,  in  listening  to  the  teacher  whom  he 
has  chosen,  with  whose  character  and  qualifications  he  is 
satisfied,  with  whose  style  and  manner  he  is  familiar,  is,  no 
doubt,  to  judge  of  the  accordance  of  what  he  hears  with  the 
divine  infallible  exhibition  of  the  doctrine  and  law  of  Christ, 
like  one  whose  spiritual  senses  are  exercised  to  discern  good 
and  evil ;  but  he  is  to  come,  expecting  to  hear  nothing 
reprehensible,  disposed  to  give  a  candid  consideration  to 
everything  that  is  said,  anxious  to  hear  what  God  the  Lord 
will  say  to  him,  and  expecting  to  hear  this  through  the 
medium  of  his  own  elders,  the  instructors  of  his  own 
unbiassed  choice,  the  divinely  appointed  organs  of  instruc- 
tion, and  determined  to  "  receive  with  meekness  the  word," 
which,  if  "engrafted"  into  him,  will  indeed  "save  his  soul." 
Instead  of  taking  offence  when  the  elder  in  teachincj 
comes  very  close  to  his  conscience,  the  church  member 
should  readily  and  thankfully  receive  "the  reproof"  which 
gives  "  wisdom  ;"  and,  instead  of  rising  in  inward  rebellion 
against  the  preacher,  should  accept  the  warning  and  rebuke 
which  through  his  instrumentality  is  administered  by  his 
Master  and  ours.  The  church  member  who  treats  the 
instructions  of '  the  elders  in  an  opposite  spirit  violates  the 
law  in  the  text,  forgets  his  place  in  the  body  of  Christ,  and 
throws  almost  invincible  obstacles  in  the  way  of  their  use- 


PART  II.J         DUTIES  OF  MEMBERS  OF  THE  CHURCH.  249 

fulness  and  liis  own  edification.  It  is  a  just  observation  of 
Mr  Fuller,  "  If  men  attend  preaching  merely  as  judges  of 
its  orthodoxy,  they  will  receive  no  advantage  to  themselves, 
and  may  do  much  harm  to  others.  It  is  the  humble  Chris- 
tian who  hears  that  he  may  be  instructed,  corrected,  and 
quickened  in  the  ways  of  God,  who  will  obtain  that  consola- 
tion which  the  gospel  affords." 

§  3.  Submission  to  the  elder's  as  superintendents. 

It  only  remains  now  that  we  say  a  few  words  on  the  duty 
of  submission  due  by  church  members  to  their  elders  as 
superintendents,  as  those  who  are  "  over  them  in  the  Lord," 
who  "  have  the  oversight  of  them,"  who  "  have  the  rule 
over  them."  And  here  I  will,  first,  attend  to  the  submission 
which  is  due  to  the  eldership  in  their  corporate  capacity, 
and  then  to  that  which  is  due  to  individual  elders  when 
performing  their  duties  as  superintendents. 

(1.)   Submission  to  the  eldership  as  a  body. 

Submission  to  the  eldership  as  a  body,  or  to  the  session, 
as  we  call  that  body,  has  a  reference  to  the  two  great  func- 
tions that  body  has  to  perform  :  the  preservation  of  external 
order  in  the  society,  and  the  exercise  of  spiritual  discipline 
in  the  society.  It  is  plain  that  in  such  a  society  as  a  Chris- 
tian church,  there  are  certain  arrangements  with  respect  to 
the  time  and  place  of  meeting,  and  the  order  and  minor 
circumstances  of  the  services,  that  must  be  made  and 
attended  to.  It  belongs  to  the  eldership  to  make  such 
regulations,  and  it  is  the  duty  of  the  members  of  the  church 
to  observe  them.  These  arrangements  may  not  in  every 
case  seem  to  individual  members  to  be  the  best ;  they  may 
not  be  the  best.  It  is  quite  right  in  private  members  to 
suggest  to  the  elders  what  they  think  would  be  an  improve- 
ment; but  it  is  for  the  elders  to  judge  of  such  things  ;  and 


250  ECCLESIASTICAL  DUTIES.  [DISC.  XXL 

their  judgment,  in  every  case  where  conscience  is  not  con- 
cerned, should  be  submitted  to.  If  this  be  not  attended  to, 
there  can  be  no  such  thing  as  order  in  a  church. 

The  other  form  of  submission  to  the  eldership,  submission 
to  them  as  the  administrators  of  the  discipline  of  the  society, 
requires  somewhat  more  extended  illustration.  The  ad- 
mission of  members  into  the  body,  the  dealing  with  such 
members  as  have  violated  the  laws  of  the  society,  and  the 
exclusion  of  obstinate  offenders  from  the  society,  are  im- 
portant official  duties  of  the  eldership.  In  the  right  dis- 
charge of  these  functions  the  members  of  the  society  have 
a  deep  interest,  and  every  member  of  the  church  should 
show  that  he  is  aware  of  this.  The  province  of  the  mem- 
bers is  not,  however,  directly  to  do  these  things  ;  but  to 
furnish,  where  they  have  it  in  their  power,  the  means  to 
the  eldership  to  do  them  to  the  best  advantage.  It  is  their 
duty,  when  they  are  aware  that  individuals  are  applying 
for  admission  into  the  society,  to  give  their  elders  any  in- 
formation which  may  help  them  to  a  right  decision  in  a 
question  of  vital  importance  to  the  body ;  and  in  the  same 
way,  when  offences  occur,  after  having  used  in  vain  the 
means  appointed  by  our  Lord  (Matt,  xviii.)  for  having 
them  removed  privately,  to  bring  the  subject  before  the 
assembly  of  the  eldership,  and  to  give  them  all  the  assist- 
ance in  their  power  to  have  it  properly  disposed  of.  Every 
member  of  a  church  is  bound  "  to  look  diligently  lest  any 
fellow  church  member  fail  of  the  grace  of  God  ;  lest  any 
root  of  bitterness  springing  up  trouble  the  body,  and  many 
be  defiled."  1 

In  the  decisions  of  the  eldership  as  to  admission,  disci- 
pline, and  exclusion,  it  is  the  duty  of  the  members  of  the 
Church  to  acquiesce,  except  in  cases  where  they  have  satis- 
factory evidence  that  the  law  of  Christ  has  not  been  rightly 
1  Heb.  xii.  15. 


PART  II.]        DUTIES  OF  MEMBERS  OF  THE  CHURCH.  251 

administered  ;  and  even  where  they  may  suppose  that  this 
has  been  the  case,  they  are  not  to  take  it  on  them  to  judge 
and  condemn  those  wliom  they  themselves  have  elected  to 
judge  in  such  matters ;  far  less  are  they  to  blazon  their 
view  of  the  matter  before  the  Church,  least  of  all  before 
the  world.  They  are  respectfully  to  remonstrate  with  the 
eldership ;  and  if  they  cannot  obtain  satisfaction,  they  are 
to  apply  to  those  larger  associations  of  elders  which,  under 
the  name  of  presbyteries  and  synods,  our  church  polity,  in 
harmony,  as  we  think,  with  the  great  leading  principles  of 
order  laid  down  in  the  New  Testament,  provides  ;  and  if 
even  then  they  cannot  obtain  satisfaction,  if  the  matter  is 
of  such  importance  as  to  require  it,  after  giving  testimony 
against  what  they  consider  as  a  violation  of  the  law  of 
Christ,  they  should  peaceably  retire  from  the  society.  For 
private  members  of  the  Church  to  counterwork  the  eldership 
in  the  legitimate  discharge  of  their  functions — to  attempt, 
by  producing  popular  commotions,  to  overawe  their  delibe- 
rations, or  interfere  with  and  overthrow  their  judgments, 
is  plainly  inconsistent  with  everything  like  good  order,  and 
directly  opposed  to  that  submission  here  enjoined  by  the 
supreme  authority  in  the  Church. 

Before  leaving  this  part  of  the  subject,  I  must  say  a  word 
or  two  as  to  the  duty  of  submission  which  a  member  of  the 
church  owes  to  the  eldership  when  he  himself  unhappily 
becomes  a  subject  of  discipline.  Such  a  person,  though 
innocent,  may,  through  mistake,  or  even  through  malignity, 
be  regularly  brought  before  the  session  as  an  accused  per- 
son. In  such  circumstances,  the  individual  concerned  is 
not  to  refuse  to  submit  the  case  to  trial.  He  is  not  to 
behave  as  if  he  thought  the  eldership  were  acting  an  unkind 
part  to  him,  in  doing  what  they  are  imperatively  bound  to 
do,  to  examine  every  question  connected  with  the  purity  of 
the  body,  regularly  brought  before  them ;  he  is  to  furnish 


252  ECCLESIASTICAL  DUTIES.  [DISC.  XXL 

tliem  with  the  means  of  vindicating  his  character  and  that 
of  the  body,  if  he  has  been  unjustly  accused ;  and  if  he 
have  really  committed  a  fault,  he  is  readily  to  acknowledge 
it,  not  carping  at  every  mistake  that  may  have  been  com- 
mitted either  by  his  accusers  or  judges,  but  by  confession, 
penitence,  and  reformation,  putting  it  in  the  power  of  the 
elders,  with  as  little  delay  as  possible,  to  restore  him. 

It  is  a  very  hazardous  thing  for  offending  members  of  a 
church  not  to  submit  themselves  to  their  elders,  when,  in 
the  impartial  administration  of  the  wise  and  benignant  law 
of  Christ,  they  are  endeavouring  to  heal  their  backslidings, 
and  wipe  off  the  stain  their  conduct  has  cast  on  the  worthy 
name,  and  remove  the  stumbling-block  it  has  cast  before 
both  the  Church  and  the  world.  It  is  no  light  matter  to 
set  at  nought  the  authority  of  an  assembly  of  elders  met  in 
the  name  of  Christ,  and  intelligently  and  honestly  admini- 
stering his  laws.  A  deeper  solemnity  hangs  over  such  an 
assembly,  however  humble  in  worldly  rank  may  be  its  mem- 
bers, than  over  the  highest  court  which  refers  merely  to  the 
affairs  of  this  world.  He  that  despiseth  them,  despiseth 
their  Lord ;  and  he  who  despiseth  him,  despiseth  also  Him 
who  sent  him. 

(2.)  Suhmission  to  the  elders  as  individuals. 

A  very  few  remarks  on  the  duty  of  submission  due  from 
the  church  members  to  the  individual  elder,  in  discharging 
his  functions  of  superintendence,  shall  conclude  these  dis- 
cussions. It  is  the  duty  of  the  elder  to  watch  for  the  souls 
of  those  placed  under  his  more  immediate  superintendence, 
to  see  that  those  duties  on  which  their  church  membership 
is  suspended  be  carefully  performed.  I  refer  to  such  duties 
as  attendance  on  public  w^orship,  the  religious  government 
and  education  of  their  families,  the  maintenance  of  family 
worship,  etc.     It  is  also  their  duty  to  see  that  theybegene- 


PART  II.]    DUTIES  OF  MEMBERS  OF  THE  CHURCH.        253 

rally  acting  as  becometli  saints ;  walking  so  as  to  please 
God,  and  adorning  the  doctrine  of  God  our  Saviour  in  all 
things. 

To  enable  himself  to  perform  these  duties,  the  elder  must 
seek  a  more  intimate  acquaintance  with  those  under  his 
care  than  the  mere  common  intercourse  of  society  can  give  ; 
and  must  make  inquiries  which  from  a  stranger  would  be 
justly  counted  intrusive  and  impertinent.  The  inquiries 
of  the  elder  should  be  kindly  taken,  as  originating  in  a 
desire  to  preserve  a  good  conscience  to  himself,  and  to  pro- 
mote the  highest  interests  both  of  the  individual  and  of  the 
societ3%  And  when  he  finds  it  necessary  to  exhort,  and 
w^arn,  and  even  rebuke  privately,  all  this  proceeding  from 
a  regard  to  Christ's  law,  and  being  indeed  but  an  execution 
of  it,  is  to  be  met  in  a  becoming  spirit,  not  submitted  to  as 
a  hardship,  but  received  as  a  privilege.  The  ])roper  dis- 
charge of  these  private  duties  of  the  elder,  and  the  meeting 
them  in  a  right  spirit,  would  mightily  promote  the  edifica- 
tion of  the  body,  and  most  happily  lighten  the  disciplinary 
labours  of  the  eldership. 

"  It  has  long  appeared  to  me,"  says  that  wise  and  good 
man  Andrew  Fuller,  "  that  there  are  some  species  of  faults 
in  church  members,  which  are  not  proper  objects  of  church 
censure,  but  of  private  pastoral  admonition"  by  the  elders  ; 
"  such  as  spiritual  declension,  hesitation  on  important  truth, 
occasional  neglect  of  religious  duties,  worldly  anxieties,  and 
the  early  approaches  to  any  evil  course.  A  faithful  elder,^ 
with  an  eye  of  watchful  tenderness,  will  perceive  the  first 
symptoms  of  spiritual  disorder,  and  by  a  timely  hint  will 
counteract  its  operations."  The  church  member  may  be 
aware  that  this  is  very  self-denying  work  to  the  elder,  who 
would  much  rather  visit  him  with  the  smile  of  affectionate 

1  Pastor  is  Mr  F.  's  word  ;  but,  we  liave  seen,  pastor  and  elder  are 
synonymous. 


254  ECCLESIASTICAL  DUTIES.  [DISC.  XXL 

congratulation  than  with  a  countenance  which  says,  '  My 
child,  I  stand  in  doubt  of  you.'  And  they  ought  not  to 
render  that  disagreeable  but  important  part  of  his  work 
more  disagreeable,  by  manifesting  an  irritable  and  resentful 
disposition,  but  receive  the  warning  and  the  reproof  which 
Christian  love  dictates,  and  which  Christian  law  requires, 
with  candour,  and  even  gratitude.  "  Correction  may  be 
grievous  to  him  that  forsaketh  the  way,  but  he  that  hateth 
reproof  shall  dle."^ 

Such  is  a  short  view  of  the  duty  of  church  members  to 
their  office-bearers,  as  here  enjoined  by  the  apostle.  It  is 
indeed  what  Archbishop  Leighton  terms  it,  just  "  the 
obedience  due  to  the  discipline  of  God's  house.  This  is 
all  we  plead  for  on  this  point.  And  know,  if  you  refuse  it, 
and  despise  the  ordinance  of  God,  he  will  resent  the  indig- 
nity as  done  to  him.  And  oh  that  all  that  have  that  charge 
of  his  house  upon  them  would  mind  his  interest  wholly, 
and  not  rise  in  conceit  of  their  power,  but  wholly  employ 
and  improve  it  for  their  Lord  and  Master ;  and  look  on 
no  respect  to  themselves  as  for  themselves  desirable,  but 
only  so  far  as  is  needful  for  the  profitable  discharge  and 
advances  of  the  work  in  their  hands.  What  are  the  differ- 
ences and  regards  of  men  ?  How  empty  a  vapour !  and 
whatsoever  it  is,  nothing  is  lost  by  single  and  entire  love  of 
our  Lord's  glory,  and  total  aiming  at  that.  Them  that 
honour  him  He  will  honour,  and  those  that  despise  Him 
shall  be  despised." 

I  shall  conclude  this  part  of  the  subject  by  briefly  illus- 
trating the  argument  by  which  the  apostle,  in  the  Epistle 
to  the  Hebrews,  enforces  compliance  with  an  injunction  of 
parallel  meaning.  "  Obey  them  that  have  the  rule  over 
you,  and  submit  yourselves  :  for  they  watch  for  your  souls, 
as  they  that  must  give  account ;  that  they  may  do  it  with 
^  Prov.  XV.  10. 


PART  II.]        DUTIES  OF  MEMBERS  OF  THE  CHURCH.  255 

joy,  and  not  with  grief  :  for  that  is  unprofitable  for  you."^ 
Think  of  the  work  in  which  they  are  engaged  ;  think  of 
the  character  which  they  bear  in  performing  it ;  think  of 
the  effect  which  your  obedience  or  disobedience  will  have 
on  the  manner  in  which  this  work  will  be  performed ;  and 
think  of  the  influence  which  the  manner  in  which  their 
work  is  performed  will  have  on  your  own  interests. 

Think  of  the  work  of  your  elders.  They  watch,  they 
watch  for  you,  they  watch  for  your  souls.  They  watch  : 
their  work  requires  constant  solicitude  ;  they  must  be  ever 
on  the  alert,  to  observe  danger  and  to  prevent  evil.  They 
watch  for  you.  Your  best  interests  are  the  object  of  their 
solicitude.  They  are  not  watching  for  their  own  emolu- 
ment or  fame,  but  for  your  happiness.  Others  are  watching 
against  you;  they  are  watching  for  you.  Satan  is  watching 
you  as  a  wolf  the  sheep-fold,  to  steal  and  to  destroy  :  your 
elders  watch,  as  faithful  shepherds,  to  protect  and  save  you. 
The  world  is  watching  you  with  a  malignant  eye,  waiting 
for  your  halting  :  your  elders  are  watching,  with  the  soli- 
citude of  parents,  to  keep  you  from  falling.  They  watch 
for  your  souls — for  that  which  is,  of  all  you  possess,  most 
precious.  Surely  those  who  are  benevolently  engaged  in 
a  work  so  full  of  solicitude,  and  labour  to  promote  your 
highest  interests,  should  not  be  counteracted  by  you,  as 
they  will  be  if  you  be  not  subject  to  them  in  the  Lord. 

Then  think  of  the  character  they  bear  in  doing  this 
work.  They  watch  as  "they  who  must  give  account."  They 
are  commissioned  and  responsible.  What  they  do,  they  do 
by  the  authority  of  him  who  has  appointed  them.  Do  not 
resist  them  in  their  proper  work,  as  you  would  not  offend 
Him  ;  and  remembering  that  they  must  give  account  to 
him,  recollecting  what  a  stake  they  have  in  the  matter,  do 
not  wonder  that  they  should  hazard  offending  you  by  the 
1  Heb.  xiii.  17. 


256  ECCLESIASTICAL  DUTIES.  [DISC.  XXI. 

discharge  of  their  duty,  rather  tlian  run  the  risk  of  being 
ashamed  before  Him  at  his  coming,  as  they  must  be  if  they 
act  not  the  part  of  faithful  watchmen. 

Consider,  still  further,  the  effect  which  your  submission 
or  non-submission  is  likely  to  have  on  their  discharge  of 
their  work.  If  you  do  not  submit  yourselves,  they  will  per- 
form their  work  with  grief.  There  are  few  bitterer  sorrows 
than  that  of  a  faithful  elder,  labouring  among  a  people 
who  counteract  his  attempts  to  promote  their  spiritual  im- 
provement. Even  Moses,  one  of  "  the  elders,  who  by  faith 
received  a  good  report,"  when  the  Israel itish  people  were 
disobedient  and  rebellious,  was  tempted  to  wish  that  God 
would  kill  him  out  of  hand  rather  than  continue  to  cause 
him  to  see  his  wretchedness.^  Slothful,  selfish,  cold-hearted, 
cavilling,  conceited,  contentious  congregations,  have  broken 
the  spirit  of  many  a  faithful  minister  of  Christ,  and  made 
him  go  mourning  to  the  grave. 

And  if  you  do  submit  yourselves,  they  will  perform  their 
work  "  with  joy."  They  will  have  a  holy  satisfaction  in  it. 
Their  work  will  be  their  reward.  Their  hearts  will  be  lifted 
up  in  the  ways  of  the  Lord.  The  joy  of  the  Lord  will  be 
their  strength.  All  good  Christian  elders  can  say  with 
John  the  elder,  "  We  have  no  greater  joy  thau  to  see  our 
children  walk  in  truth." 

And  then,  finally,  thiidv  of  the  influence  which  the  man- 
ner in  which  the  work  is  performed  will  have  on  your  own 
interests.  If  it  is  performed  with  grief,  that  will  be  unpro- 
fitable for  you.  The  labours  of  a  disheartened  spiritual 
teacher  or  superintendent  are  not  likely  to  be  effective. 
Even  where  there  is  the  highest  degree  of  spiritual  holy 
principle,  the  hands  will  wax  feeble  when  the  heart  is  dis- 
couraged ;  and  the  blessing  of  the  great  Master  is  not  likely 
to  be  imparted  when  his  commands  are  disregarded,  and  his 
^  Num.  xi.  15. 


PART  III.]  MUTUAL  DUTIES.  257 

servants  misused.  On  the  other  hand,  if  your  elder's  work  is 
performed  "with  joy,"  it  will  be  "profitable"  to  you.  He  will 
be  enabled  to  do  all  his  work  in  the  most  satisfactory  way. 
His  best  affections  will  be  strongly  drawn  out  to  those  who 
rightly  estimate  his  labours,  and  show  a  regard  to  the  law 
of  the  Lord  ;  and  he  will  pray  for  you,  and  preach  to  you 
with  double  fervour  and  impressiveness.  Seeing  of  the 
travail  of  his  Master's  soul,  and  of  his  own,  he  will  be 
satisfied ;  and  he  will  become  more  and  more  desirous  that 
those  in  whom  the  good  work  is  going  forward,  under  his 
instrumentality,  may  grow  in  all  holy  attainments  ;  he  will 
become  ingenious  in  devising  and  unwearied  in  executing 
plans  for  their  spiritual  improvement ;  and  the  great  Head 
of  the  Church,  regarding  with  a  benignant  smile  the  affec- 
tionate laborious  eldership,  and  the  docile  obedient  church, 
will  pour  out  on  them  in  rich  abundance  of  the  selectest 
influences  of  his  grace,  and  bless  them,  and  make  them 
blessings.  Happy  elders  !  Happy  church  !  In  their  ex- 
perience is  verified  the  ancient  oracle,  "  Then  shall  thy  light 
break  forth  as  the  morning,  and  thine  health  shall  spring 
forth  speedily ;  and  thy  righteousness  shall  go  before  thee  : 
the  glory  of  the  Lord  shall  be  thy  rereward.  And  the 
Lord  shall  guide  thee  continually,  and  satisfy  thy  soul  in 
drought,  and  make  fat  thy  bones  :  and  thou  shalt  be  like  a 
watered  garden,  and  like  a  spring  of  water,  whose  waters 
failnot."'^ 


III.    OF  THE  DUTY  WHICH  ALL  IN  A  CHRISTIAN  CHURCH 
OWE  TO  EACH  OTHER  :    "  MUTUAL  SUBJECTION." 

There  still  remains  to  be  considered  the  duty  whicli  all 
in  a  Christian  church,  whether  office-bearers  or  private 
members,  owe  to  each  other,  as  stated  by  the  apostle  in 
1  Isa.  Iviii.  8,  II. 

VOL.  III.  It 


258  ECCLESIASTICAL  DUTIES.  [DISC.  XXI. 

these  words,  "  Yea,  all  of  you  be  subject  one  to  another, 
and  be  clothed  Math  humility  :  for  God  resisteth  the  proud, 
and  giveth  grace  to  the  humble." 

It  has  been  supposed  by  some  interpreters,  that  these 
words  are  not  to  be  considered  as  having  any  particular 
reference  to  Christians  in  their  ecclesiastical  relations,  but 
as  an  injunction  referring  to  all  the  relations  of  human  life; 
and  that  the  subjection  one  to  another  required,  is  either 
that  mutual  kindly  consideration  of  each  other's  interests, 
and  that  readiness  to  submit  to  inconvenience  to  promote 
these  interests,  which  is  required  by  the  law,  "  Whatsoever 
ye  would  that  men  should  do  to  you,  do  ye  even  so  to  them," 
and  which  is  equally  due  in  all  the  relations  of  society,  from 
all  to  all;  or  that  the  apostle  meant  to  intimate,  that  not  only 
in  the  ecclesiastical  relation,  but  in  all  the  relations  of  life, 
subjection  to  superiors  is  a  Christian  duty :  that  not  only 
is  the  church  member  to  be  subject  to  the  church  ruler,  but 
the  member  of  the  state  to  the  state  ruler,  the  member  of 
the  family  to  the  family  ruler ;  the  wife  to  the  husband, 
the  child  to  the  parent,  the  servant  to  the  master ;  that,  in 
one  word,  wherever  the  relation  of  inferior  and  superior  is 
established  by  God,  there  the  duty  of  subjection  finds 
place,  as  in  Ephesians  v.  21,  where  the  general  command, 
"  Submit  yourselves  to  one  another,"  is  followed  and  illus- 
trated by  the  particular  injunctions,  'Wives,  submit  your- 
selves to  your  husbands  ;  children,  obey  your  parents  ; 
servants,  be  obedient  to  your  masters.'  Either  of  these 
important  moral  truths  might,  without  violence,  be  brought 
out  of  the  words  before  us,  viewed  by  themselves  ;  but 
considered  as  a  part  of  a  closely  connected  paragraph,  there 
can  be  no  reasonable  doubt,  that  the  term  "  all  of  you " 
refers  to  the  elders  and  to  the  juniors  just  mentioned,  the 
office-bearers  and  members  of  the  church  ;  and  that  the 
duty  enjoined  is  a  duty  equally  owing  by  the  elders  to  each 


PART  III]  MUTUAL  DUTIES.  259 

other,  by  the  members  to  each  other,  and  by  the  elders  and 
members  to  each  other. 

It  may  be  of  use  in  enabling  you  to  perceive  the  precise 
import  and  bearing  of  the  apostle's  words,  to  remark,  that 
their  literal  rendering  is,  "  But  let  all  of  you,  being  subject 
one  to  another,  be  clothed  with  humility ;  for  God  resisteth 
the  proud,  but  he  givetli  grace  to  the  humble."  As  if  he 
had  said, '  While  it  is  the  duty  of  church  officers  to  exercise 
the  rule  with  which  Christ  has  invested  them,  and  for 
church  members  to  yield  the  obedience  which  Christ  has 
enjoined  on  them,  there  is  a  kind  of  mutual  subjection 
which  all  church  members  owe  to  all  church  members  ; 
which  all  church  officers  owe  to  all  church  officers  ;  ay, 
which  all  church  officers  owe  to  all  church  members ;  in 
order  to  the  discharge  of  which,  it  is  necessary  to  cherish 
and  display  that  humility  which  is  in  a  remarkable  degree 
the  object  of  the  divine  approbation.' 

There  are  obviously  three  topics  which  the  apostle's  words 
bring  before  the  mind,  and  which  must  be  successively 
considered  : — 1.  The  duty  which  all  connected  with  the 
Christian  Church,  whether  as  office-bearers  or  members, 
owe  to  each  other  —  mutual  subjection;  2.  The  means 
which  are  necessary  to  the  discharge  of  this  duty — the 
being  clothed  with,  that  is,  the  cherishing  and  manifesting 
humility;  and  3.  The  motive  urging  the  use  of  this  means, 
its  being  the  object  of  the  peculiar  approbation  of  God — 
"God  resisteth  the  proud,  and  giveth  grace  to  the  humble." 

CHAP.  I.    OF  THE  MUTUAL  SUBJECTION  WHICH  ALL  IN  A 
CHRISTIAN  CHURCH  OWE  TO  EACH  OTHER. 

§  1.    What  this  does  not  impli/. 

Let  us  first,  then,  inquire.  What  is  that  mutual  SUB- 
JECTION which  the  apostle  here  enjoins  on  all  Christians, 


260  ECCLESIASTICAL  DUTIES.  [DISC.  XXI. 

whether  ofSce-bearers  or  private  members.  It  is  so  plain 
as  scarcely  to  require  to  be  noticed,  that  the  subjection 
here  required  is  by  no  means  the  same  thing,  though  ex- 
pressed by  the  same  word,  as  the  submission  which,  in  the 
preceding  clause,  the  juniors  are  enjoined  to  yield  to  the 
elders,  the  church  members  to  the  church  rulers.  It  is 
obvious  that  church  members  are  not  bound  to  submit,  to 
be  subject,  to  their  fellow  church  members,  as  they  are  to 
their  elders ;  still  less,  if  possible,  can  elders  be  bound  to 
submit  or  be  subject  to  the  members,  as  the  members  are 
to  be  to  them.  This  is  obviously  impossible  ;  and  to  attempt 
it,  were  just  in  other  words  to  annul  church  government, 
and  to  introduce  all  the  disorders  of  ecclesiastical  anarchy. 

Nor  does  the  command  before  us  enjoin  anything  that  in 
any  degree  involves  in  it  a  compromise  of  conscientious 
conviction  respecting  truth  or  duty.  Christians  must  not 
submit  to  each  other  by  taking  each  other's  conscience  as  a 
guide  in  matters  of  faith  or  duty.  Every  man  must  give 
account  of  himself  to  God  ;  and,  so  far  as  fellow-men  or 
fellow-Christians  are  concerned,  every  man  must  think, 
inquire,  judge,  act,  for  himself.  "  One  is  our  Master,  even 
Christ." 

The  Christian  elder  must  not,  in  teaching  or  administer- 
ing the  law  of  Christ,  fashion  his  conduct  in  subservience 
to  the  views  and  wishes  of  those  committed  to  his  care.  He 
must  speak  what  he  knows  to  be  true,  because  it  is  Christ's 
doctrine,  whatever  they  may  think  of  it.  He  must  do  what 
he  knows  to  be  right,  because  it  is  Christ's  law,  whatever 
they  may  think  of  it.  He  must  not  in  this  way  be  a 
servant  of  men,  even  of  Christian  men.  Were  he  to  serve 
men  in  this  way,  he  could  not  be  a  servant  of  Christ. 
Were  he  to  serve  them  in  this  way,  he  would  disserve  them 
in  a  more  important  way. 

No  Christian  man  must  submit,  in  matters  of  conscience, 


PART  III.]  MUTUAL  DUTIES.  261 

to  be  led  by  another ;  to  avow  or  conceal  what  he  wishes 
him  to  avow  or  conceal ;  to  do  or  to  refram  from  doing 
what  he  wishes  him  to  do  or  refrain  from  doing.  Instead 
of  being  thus  subject  to  one  another  when  any  such  sub- 
mission is  sought,  either  on  the  part  of  fellow  church 
members  or  of  church  office-bearers,  we  are  not  to  give 
subjection  to  such  usurpation,  "  no,  not  for  an  hour."  Our 
submission  to  one  another  is  to  be  submission  "  in  the  fear 
of  God."  ^ 

§  2.    What  this  does  imply. 

The  mutual  subjection  referred  to  obviously  implies  a 
distinct  recognition  of,  and  a  sacred  regard  to,  our  mutual 
rights  as  Christians  and  church  members.  Every  encroach- 
ment by  elders  on  the  rights  of  church  members,  every 
encroachment  by  church  members  on  the  rights  of  their 
elders,  every  encroachment  by  church  members,  either 
individually  or  collectively,  on  each  other's  rights — and 
there  has  been  a  great  deal  too  much  of  all  these  kinds  of 
encroachment  in  the  history  of  Christianity — is  inconsistent 
with  this  mutual  subjection.  Every  Cln'istian  man,  official 
or  unofficial,  is  to  be  yielded  to,  submitted  to,  in  the 
exercise  of  his  legitimate  rights.  This  is  most  reasonable ; 
it  is  absolutely  necessary  to  the  peace  of  the  society  ;  and, 
if  carefully  and  uniformly  attended  to,  would  go  very  far 
to  secure  that  peace. 

This  regard  for  mutual  rights  must  be  connected  with  a 

1  "Wlieii  the  apostle  (Epli.  v.  21)  says,  'Submit  yourselves  one  to 
another  in  the  fear  of  God, '  it  is  as  though  he  said,  '  Do  not  submit  your- 
selves one  to  another  except  in  the  fear  of  God.'  This  limit  of  submission 
arises  out  of  the  very  same  princii)le  which  forms  the  motive  of  submis- 
sion ;  the  same  expression  serves  to  designate  the  reason  of  the  precept 
and  its  limitation.  We  cannot  sacrifice  our  own  will  to  that  of  our 
brethren  in  the  spirit  of  the  text,  beyond  what  is  consistent  mth  the 
glory  of  God,  the  public  good,  justice,  and  the  rights  of  others. " — Vinet. 


262  ECCLESIASTICAL  DUTIES.  [DISC.  XXL 

jast,  and,  because  a  just,  a  high  estimate  of  the  honour  due 
to  Christians  as  Christians.  No  man  will  ever  perform  well 
the  duties  of  civil  life  who  has  not  learned  to  "  honour  all 
men," — to  honour  man  as  man,  and  to  see  that  the  circum- 
stances which  distinguish  one  man  from  another  are  as 
nothing  when  compared  with  those  which  distinguish  all 
men  from  the  lower  creation.  In  like  manner,  the  higher 
a  Christian  estimates  those  privileges  which  are  possessed  by 
all  Christians  as  Christians,  and  those  spiritual  character- 
istics which  belong  to  every  Christian,  and  which  can  belong 
to  none  but  a  Christian,  the  better  will  he  be  prepared  to 
perform  the  duty  here  enjoined.  Every  Christian,  just 
because  he  is  a  Christian,  in  relation  and  character  a  child 
of  Grod,  will  be  an  object  of  his  respectful  affection  ;  and 
he  will  find  it  impossible  intentionally  to  treat  him  unjustly, 
contemptuously,  or  unkindly. 

The  disposition  to  mutual  submission  is  greatly  strength- 
ened by  that  generous  appreciation  of  the  personal  Chris- 
tian excellences  of  those  with  whom  we  are  associated  in 
church  fellowship,  to  which  Christian  principle  naturally 
leads.  Christians  should  be  eagle-eyed  towards  each  other's 
good  qualities,  "in  honour  preferring  one  another,"  each 
"esteeming  others  better  than  themselves."^  When  this 
state  of  mind  prevails,  "being  subject  to  one  another" 
follows  as  a  matter  of  course.  There  is  a  disposition  to 
oblige,  a  backwardness  to  occasion  pain.  While  there  is  a 
mutual  teaching,  admonition,  and  exhortation,  there  is  a 
mutual  submission  to  instruction,  admonition,  and  exhorta- 
tion. And  while  a  brother  does  not  so  hate  his  brother  in 
his  heart  as  to  "  suffer  sin"  on  him,  his  brother  reproved  says 
by  his  conduct,  "  Let  the  righteous  smite  me,  it  shall  be  a 
kindness ;  and  let  him  reprove  me,  it  shall  be  an  excellent 
oil,  which  shall  not  break  my  head."  Even  Archippus,  the 
1  Rom.  xii.  10 ;  Phil.  ii.  3. 


PART  III.]  MUTUAL  DUTIES.  -263 

office-bearer,  will  be  subject  to  him,  whether  an  official  or 
only  a  Christian  brother,  who  in  the  right  spirit  says  to  him, 
"  Take  heed  to  the  ministry,  which  thou  hast  received  of 
the  Lord,  to  fulfil  it."^  There  is  a  kindly  yielding  to  each 
other  in  matters  which  do  not  involve  conscience  ;  and  there 
is  a  serving  one  another  in  love,  a  readiness  to  submit  to 
labour  and  inconvenience  to  promote  one  another's  true 
happiness.  Instead  of  insisting  on  having  everything  our 
own  way,  we  have  a  satisfaction  in  pleasing  every  one  his 
neighbour  to  his  edification.  We  not  only  "  bear  with  the 
infirmities "  of  our  brethren  :  we  bear  their  infirmities,  not 
pleasing  ourselves.  We  "forbear  one  another  in  love," 
and  "  let  no  man  seek  his  own,  but  every  man  another's 
Avealth."2 

Such  was  the  temper  and  conduct  of  the  great  apostle  of 
the  Gentiles.  Though  free  from  all,  he  became  the  servant 
of  all.  He  most  willingly  both  spent  and  was  spent  to 
promote  the  welfare  of  his  brethren ;  and  declares  that  he 
would  neither  eat  flesh  nor  drink  wine  while  the  world 
stood,  if  by  this  means  his  brother  were  likely  to  be  offended 
or  made  weak.  "Who  was  weak,  and  he  was  not  weak? 
who  was  offended,  while  he  did  not  burn  ?  To  the  weak  he 
became  as  weak,  that  he  micrht  nam  the  weak.  To  the 
Jew  he  became  as  a  Jew,  that  he  might  gain  the  Jew ;  to 
them  who  were  under  the  law  as  under  the  law,  that  he 
might  gain  them  who  were  under  the  law ;  to  them  who 
were  without  law,  as  without  law,  not  being  without  law  to 
God,  but  under  the  law  to  Christ,  that  he  might  gain  them 
without  law.  He  became  all  things  to  all  men,  that  he 
might  gain  some."^  Nor  was  this  disposition  in  him  con- 
fined to  fellow-Christians  ;  he  was  willing  to  be  thus  subject 

^  Ps.  cxli.  5  ;  Col.  iv.  17. 

2  Rom.  XV.  2  ;  Epli.  iv.  2  ;  Col.  Ui.  13  ;  1  Cor.  x.  24. 

3  1  Cor.  ix.  20,  21. 


264  ECCLESIASTICAL  DUTIES.  [DISC.  XXL 

to  every  man,  if  that  might  but  promote  his  happiness, 
secure  his  salvation. 

Such  was  the  temper  and  conduct  of  the  great  apostle's 
infinitely  greater  Lord  and  Master,  and  ours.  He,  though 
"Lord  of  all,"  became  "the  servant  of  all."  Amid  his 
disciples,  he  was  as  "  one  who  served."  "  The  Son  of  man," 
said  he, — and  the  whole  of  his  life  was  an  illustration  of  the 
saying, — "  The  Son  of  man  came  not  to  be  ministered  unto, 
but  to  minister,  and  give  his  life  a  ransom  for  many."^ 
Never  was  the  lesson  here  given  by  the  apostle  so  strikingly 
taught  and  so  powerfully  recommended  as  in  the  conduct 
of  our  Lord  in  that  memorable  night  in  which  he  was 
betrayed,  of  which  we  have  so  touching  a  narrative  in  the 
evangelical  history :  "  Now,  before  the  feast  of  the  pass- 
over,  when. Jesus  knew  that  his  hour  was  come  that  he 
should  depart  out  of  this  world  unto  the  Father,  having 
loved  his  own  which  were  in  the  world,  he  loved  them  to 
the  end.  And  there  was  a  strife  among  tlie  disciples, 
which  of  them  should  be  accounted  the  greatest.  And 
supper  being  ended,  '  or  rather  being  come,'  Jesus  knowing 
that  the  Father  had  given  all  things  into  his  hands,  and 
that  he  was  come  from  God,  and  went  to  God ;  he  riseth 
from  supper,  and  laid  aside  his  garments  ;  and  took  a  towel, 
and  girded  himself,  'clothing  himself  with  humility.'  After 
that  he  poureth  water  into  a  basin,  and  began  to  wash  the 
disciples'  feet,  and  to  wipe  them  with  the  towel  wherewith 
he  was  girded.  So  after  he  had  washed  their  feet,  and  had 
taken  his  garments,  and  was  set  down  again,  he  said  unto 
them,  Know  ye  what  I  have  done  to  you  ?  The  kings  of 
the  Gentiles  exercise  lordship  over  them ;  and  they  that 
exercise  authority  ujDon  them  are  called  benefactors.  But 
ye  shall  not  be  so.  But  he  that  is  greatest  among  you,  let 
him  be  as  the  younger ;  and  he  that  is  chief,  as  he  that  doth 
1  Matt.  XX.  28. 


PART  III.]  MUTUAL  DUTIES.  265 

serve.  For  whether  is  greater,  he  that  sitteth  at  meat, 
or  he  that  serveth  I  is  not  he  that  sitteth  at  meat  ?  but  I 
am  among  you  as  he  that  serveth.  Ye  call  me  Master 
and  Lord :  and  ye  say  well ;  for  so  I  am.  If  I,  then, 
your  Lord  and  Master,  have  washed  your  feet,  ye  also 
ought  to  wash  one  another's  feet.  For  I  have  given  you 
an  example,  that  ye  should  do  as  I  have  done  unto  you. 
Yerily,  verily,  I  say  unto  you.  The  servant  is  not  greater 
than  his  lord  ;  neither  he  that  is  sent  greater  than  he  who 
sent  him.  If  ye  know  these  things,  happy  are  ye  if  ye  do 
them."^ 

This  kind  of  mutual  subjection,  readiness  to  serve  one 
another,  should  characterize  all  the  members  of  the  Church 
in  their  conduct  to  one  another  ;  but  it  should  be  especially 
prominent  in  the  character  and  conduct  of  the  office-bearers 
of  the  Church.  They  ought  never  to  forget,  that  though 
they  are  over  their  brethren  in  the  Lord  in  one  sense,  in 
another  they  are  not  their  lords  ;  Christ  Jesus  is  the  Lord  ; 
they  are  their  "servants  for  Jesus'  sake."^  Our  Lord, 
aware  of  the  tendency  of  superiority  of  rank  to  produce 
arrogance,  warns  his  official  servants  against  this  hazard. 
"  Be  not  ye  called  Eabbi :  for  one  is  your  Master,  even 
Christ ;  and  all  ye  are  brethren.  Neither  be  ye  called 
masters  :  for  one  is  your  Master,  even  Christ.  But  he  that 
is  greatest  among  you  shall  be  your  servant."^  The  same 
truth  is  suggested  by  the  peculiar  form  of  expression  in  the 
passage  before  us.  "  Ye  juniors,  submit  yourselves  to  the 
elders"  in  the  discharo-e  of  their  official  functions  ;  "  but"* 
this  is  not  the  only  kind  of  submission  that  is  required  in 
the  Church — among  Christians  :  "  let  all  of  you,"  whether 
elder  or  younger,  seniors  or  juniors,  official  rulers  or  private 
members, — "let    all   of  you   be  subject  one  to  another." 

1  Jolin  xiii.  1-17  ;  Luke  xxii.  24-27.  ^  2  Cor.  iv.  5. 

3  Matt,  xxiii.  8,  10,  11.  *  As. 


266  .     ECCLESIASTICAL  DUTIES.  [DISC.  XXL 

Mutually  do  service ;  and  let  him  who  is  most  esteemed  in 
the  Church  be  the  readiest  to  serve. 


CHAP.  II.  OF  THE  MEANS  OF  PEKFORMING  THIS  DUTY  : 


(i 


THE  BEING  CLOTHED  WITH  HUMILITY. 


Let  us  now,  in  the  second  place,  consider  the  means  by 
which  Christians  are  to  be  enabled  thus  to  be  subject  to  one 
another.  It  is  by  being  "  clothed  with  humility."  "  Let 
all  of  you,  being  subject  one  to  another,  be  clothed  with 
humility."^  The  idea  plainly  is:  Cherish  and  manifest 
humility ;  that  will  dispose  and  enable  you  to  be  subject 
one  to  another.  But  there  is  something  peculiarly  beautiful 
and  instructive  in  the  manner  in  which  the  idea  is  brought 
out.  The  apostle,  in  the  Epistle  to  the  Colossians,  calls  on 
Christians  to  "  put  on,"  among  other  Christian  virtues, 
"  humbleness  of  mind," — the  same  word  rendered  here 
"humility," — as  necessary  to  their  "forbearing  one  another, 
and  forgiving  one  another,"  which  are  just  particular  forms 
of  being  subject  to  one  another.''^  The  figure  there  is  just 
the  general  one  common  in  all  lano;ua£;es.  The  cultivation 
and  display  of  a  disposition  is  represented  as  the  putting  on 
and  wearing  a  garment.  But  there  is  more  in  the  phrase 
before  us.  The  word  rendered  "  Be  clothed"  is  a  remark- 
able one,  occurring  nowhere  else  in  Scripture.  It  is  bor- 
rowed from  a  piece  of  dress  worn  by  servants  when  they 
were  doing  menial  offices, — a  kind  of  apron  fastened  by 
strings,  a  piece  of  dress  which  at  once  intimated  their 
station,  and  fitted  them  for  the  performance  of  its  duties.^ 
The  apostle  calls  on  Christians,  viewed  as  servants  to  each 
other,  to  put  on  humility  as  this  piece  of  dress,  to  tie  it  on ; 

^  What  a  contrast  does  this  exhibit  to  the  Horatian  ' '  virtute  mea  me 
involve  !" 

2  Col  iii.  12.    .  3  See  note  D. 


PART  III.]  MUTUAL  DUTIES.  267 

just  as  he  calls  on  them,  as  soldiers  of  the  Captain  of  salva- 
tion, to  put  on  faith  as  a  breastplate,  and  hope  as  an  helmet. 
Cultivate  humility,  which  will  mark  you  as  mutual  servants, 
and  fit  you  for  mutual  service.  And  it  is  difficult  not  to 
entertain  the  thought,  that  our  Lord  on  the  occasion  already 
adverted  to,  putting  on  the  towel  like  the  sei'vant's  apron, 
and  tying  it  around  him,  the  visible  emblem  of  his  humility, 
and  his  readiness  under  its  influence  to  serve,  was  before 
the  apostle's  mind ;  and  that  he  then  remembered  the 
words  of  the  Lord  Jesus,  words  he  was  not  likely  to  forget, 
"  I  have  given  you  an  example,  that  ye  should  do  as  I  have 
done  to  you."  All  that  is  necessary  here  in  the  way  of 
illustration,  is  shortly  to  show  what  that  humility  is  which 
the  apostle  enjoins,  and  then  in  a  few  words  to  point  out 
how  it  fits  Christians  for  being  "  subject  one  to  another."-^ 

§  1.  Humility  explained. 

Humility,  or,  as  the  same  word  is  elsewhere  rendered 
more  literally,  "  humbleness  of  mind,"  "  lowliness  of  mind," 
is  expressive  of  a  low  because  a  just  estimate  of  ourselves — 
of  our  nature,  of  our  character,  of  our  condition,  of  our 
deserts. 

The  humble  man  has  just,  and  therefore  lowly,  views  of 
his  own  nature,  as  a  creature  infinitely  inferior  to,  entirely 
dependent  on,  God  ;  greatly  inferior  to  angels,  belonging 
to  the  lowest  order  of  God's  intelligent  offspring ;  and,  as  a 
sinner,  the  proper  object  not  only  of  the  judicial  displeasure 
of  God,  but  of  the  moral  disapprobation  of  all  good  and 
wise  intelligences  ;  inexcusably  guilty,  thoroughly  depraved, 
righteously  doomed  to  "everlasting  destruction;"  who,  if 
saved  at  all,  must  owe  his  salvation  to  the  riches  of  free 
grace,  sovereign  mercy. 

The  humble  man  has  also  just,  and  therefore  lowly,  views 
1  Col.  iii.  12 ;  Phil.  ii.  3. 


268  ECCLESIASTICAL  DUTIES.  [DISC.  XXL 

of  his  own  individual  character.  He  is  sensibly  impressed 
with  the  heinousness  and  aggravation  of  his  own  sins ;  he 
feels  his  own  heart  to  be  deceitful  above  all  things,  and  des- 
perately wicked  ;  he  knows  that  in  him,  that  is,  in  his  flesh, 
dwells  no  good  thing.  If  his  inward  and  outward  man,  his 
character  and  conduct,  have  been  brought  into  any  measure 
of  conformity  to  the  mind  and  will  of  God,  he  is  aware  that, 
so  far  as  he  is  a  new  creature,  he  is  "  God's  workmanship, 
created  in  Christ  Jesus  unto  good  works;"  that  "by  the 
grace  of  God  he  is  what  he  is  ;"  that  the  work  of  renova- 
tion is  very  imperfect  in  him  ;  that  there  is  still  very  much 
wanting,  very  much  wrong ;  and  that,  while  he  has  much 
for  which  to  be  thankful,  he  has  much  of  which  to  be 
ashamed,  nothing  of  which  to  be  proud. 

And  not  only  does  the  humble  man  form  a  low  estimate 
of  his  nature  generally,  and  of  himself  individually,  when 
he  tests  human  nature  and  his  own  character  and  conduct 
by  the  law  of  God,  but  he  cherishes  a  humble  opinion  of 
himself,  intellectually,  morally,  spiritually,  in  comparison 
with  others.  His  tendency  is  to  notice  the  excellences 
rather  than  the  faults  of  others  ;  while  he  looks  at  his  own 
faults  rather  than  at  his  excellences,  and  "  in  lowliness  of 
mind  he  esteems  others  better  than  himself."  He  knows 
his  own  deficiencies  and  faults  much  more  extensively  and 
thoroughly  than  he  can  know  those  of  other  men ;  and  the 
charity  which  always  accompanies  true  humility,  leads  him 
to  attribute  what  seems  to  be  good  in  other  men  to  the  best 
principle  which  can  reasonably  be  supposed  to  have  pro- 
duced it ;  while  it  leads  him,  from  his  necessary  ignorance 
of  their  motives,  to  make  allowances  for  their  defects  and 
failings,  which  he  cannot  make  for  his  own.  Plumility 
does  not  lead  a  man  to  overlook  or  disclaim  what  God  has 
done  in  him  or  by  him,  but  it  leads  him  to  give  all  the  glory 
to  Him  to  whom  it  is  due :  and  while  he  cannot  but  see 


PART  III]  MUTUAL  DUTIES.  269 

that  God  has  made  him  to  differ  from  others,  and  be  deeply 
grateful  for  this,  he  at  once  feels  that  it  is  God  alone  who 
has  done  this ;  and  is  so  sensible  of  the  manner  in  which 
he  has  counterworked  the  divine  operations  for  his  sanctifi- 
cation,  that  he  is  very  ready  to  believe  and  acknowledge, 
that  any  other  person  blessed  with  his  helps  and  advan- 
tages would  have  greatly  surpassed  him  in  his  attainments. 
When  he  thinks  of  what  he  is  in  comparison  of  what  he 
ought  to  have  been,  in  comparison  of  what  he  might  have 
been  ;  when  he  thinks  of  what  others  with  far  inferior 
advantages  have  attained  to,  and  recollects  that  whatever 
is  spiritually  good  in  him  has  been  put  into  his  heart  by 
the  invincible  but  not  unresisted  efficacious  operation  of  the 
Holy  Ghost,  he  not  only  feels  that  he  ought  to  lie  very  low 
before  God,  but  that,  even  in  reference  to  his  fellow-men, 
he  has  nothing  to  boast  of. 

Humility  has  been  well  described  as  consisting  in  "  the 
not  being  deluded  with  a  false  conceit  of  what  we  have  not, 
not  puffed  up  with  a  vain  conceit  of  what  we  really  have, 
nor  affecting  to  be  esteemed  by  others,  either  in  their 
imagining  us  to  be  what  we  are  not,  or  discerning  vis  to  be 
what  we  are."  ^  Humility  will  not  make  us  unconscious  of 
what  is  good  in  us,  but  it  will  make  us  beware  of  imagining 
that  to  be  good  which  is  not,  or  that  which  is  good  to  be 
better  than  it  is ;  and  it  will  constantly  keep  before  the 
mind,  that  whatever  good  is  in  us  has  been  put  into  us,  is 
not  so  much  ours  as  God's,  the  gift  of  his  grace,  the  work 
of  his  Spirit,  and  thus  make  the  very  consciousness  of  our 
sanctification,  instead  of  puffing  us  up,  a  means  of  deepen- 
ing the  conviction  that  no  flesh  may  "  glory  in  his  presence," 
but  that  "he  who  glorieth  must  glory  in  the  Lord."'  Such 
is  the  humility  with  which  the  apostle  exhorts  all  Christians 
to  be  clothed,  that  they  may  be  all  subject  one  to  another. 
1  Leighton.  2  j  Qqj.^  i_  29-31. 


270  ECCLESIASTICAL  DUTIES.  [DISC.  XXL 

§  2.  Tlie  tendency  of  humility  to  secure  mutual  subjection. 

I  have  already  adverted  to  the  peculiar  force  of  the  ex- 
pression, "  Be  clothed."  The  command  does  not  refer  so 
much,  if  at  all,  to  the  manifestation  of  this  disposition  in 
demeanour  and  language,  but  rather  to  the  cherishing  of  it 
in  the  heart,  to  the  maintaining  of  it  in  all  circumstances, 
as  that  which  fits  a  Christian  for  being  subject  to  his  fellow- 
Christians,  by  serving  them  in  love,  like  the  servant  who 
fastened  his  serving  robes  about  him  as  necessary  for  the 
proper  discharge  of  his  duty  as  a  servant.  Humility  is  to 
the  Christian,  as  the  servant  of  all  his  brethren,  what  the 
appropriate  dress  for  service  was  to  the  servant  in  common 
life.  A  proud,  self-conceited  man  is  not  disposed,  is  not 
qualified,  for  serving  others.  He  is  continually  making 
demands  on  others  for  service.  It  is  their  duty  in  his 
estimation  to  serve  him,  not  his  to  serve  them.  A  haughty 
mind  ill  comports  with  becoming  all  things  to  all  men, 
pleasing  our  neighbour  to  his  edification,  in  love  serving 
each  other,  bearing  one  another's  burdens,  and  so,  in  one 
word,  fulfilhng  the  law  of  Christ :  just  as  a  gaudy  dress,  a 
rich  flowing  robe,  does  not  suit,  is  at  once  incongruous  and 
inconvenient  in,  one  that  serves.  On  the  other  hand,  the 
humble-minded  man  is  ready  to  serve,  feels  honoured  in 
being  permitted  to  do  any  office  which  can  promote  the 
honour  of  his  Lord  in  the  welfare  of  his  brethren.  Like 
the  plainly,  suitably-attired  servant,  he  is  like  his  work,  and 
fit  for  it.  He  is  ready  to  loose  the  latchets  of  his  Lord's 
sandals,  and  to  wash  his  brethren's  feet. 

The  importance  of  humility,  in  order  to  the  discharge  of 
those  offices  which  are  so  closely  connected  with  the  peace 
and  spiritual  prosperity  of  a  church,  is  very  strikingly 
manifested  in  the  following  exhortations  of  the  Apostle 
Paul :  "  Be  like-minded,  having  the  same  love,  being  of  one 


PART  III.]  MUTUAL  DUTIES.  271 

accord,  of  one  mind.  Let  nothing  be  done  through  strife 
or  vainglory ;  but  in  lowliness  of  mind  let  each  esteem  other 
better  than  themselves.  Look  not  every  man  on  his  own 
things,  but  every  man  also  on  the  things  of  others.  Let 
this  mind  be  in  you,  that  was  in  Christ  Jesus,"  the  disposi- 
tion to  humble  himself  that  he  might  serve  others.  "  Put 
on,  therefore,  as  the  elect  of  God,  holy  and  beloved,  bowels 
of  mercy,  kindness,  humbleness  of  mind,  meekness,  long- 
suffering;  forbearing  one  another,  and  forgiving  one  an- 
other, if  any  man  have  a  quarrel  against  any."  ^ 


CHAP.  III.    OF  THE  MOTIVE  URGING  CHRISTIANS  TO 
CULTIVATE  HUMILITY. 

The  only  other  topic  in  the  text  which  requires  considera- 
tion is  the  motive  employed  by  the  apostle  to  urge  Christians 
to  cultivate  that  humility  which  was  so  necessary  to  their 
mutually  serving  each  other.  "  Be  clothed  with  humility  : 
for  God  resisteth  the  proud,  and,"  or  rather  but,^  "  giveth 
grace  to  the  humble."  The  leading  idea  is,  '  Humility  is 
the  object  of  the  approbation  of  God,  and  pride  of  his 
disapprobation;  and  he  makes  this  very  manifest  in  his 
dispensations  respectively  to  the  proud  and  to  the  humble.' 
As  to  any  disposition  or  action,  the  first  question  with  every 
man  ought  to  be,  the  first  question  with  a  Christian  will  be, 
What  is  the  estimate  God  forms  of  them ;  what  effect  will 
the  cultivation  of  the  one  and  the  performance  of  the  other 
have  on  my  relations  towards  him  ?  And  the  resolution  of 
that  question  ought  to  have  more  influence  with  every  man, 
with  every  Christian  will  have  more  influence,  than  all 
other  things  taken  together,  as  to  his  checking  or  cherishing 
the  disposition,  following  or  avoiding  the  course  of  conduct. 
This  matter  is  very  clear  as  to  pride  and  humility :  "  God 
1  Phil.  ii.  2-5 ;  Col.  iii.  12,  13.  "  As. 


272  ECCLESIASTICAL  DUTIES.  [DISC.  XXI. 

resisteth  the  proud,  but  givetli  grace  to  the  humble."  This 
is  a  quotation  from  the  book  of  Proverbs  (iii.  34),  according 
to  the  Greek  version  in  common  use  at  the  time :  in  our 
version,  which  is  a  literal  rendering  of  the  Hebrew  original, 
it  runs  thus,  "  Surely  he  scorneth  the  scorners,  but  giveth 
grace  to  the  lowly." 

"  God  resisteth  the  proud."  He  sets  himself  to  oppose 
them.  It  is  impossible,  in  the  nature  of  things,  that  God 
should  not  disapprove  of  pride,  for  it  is  a  disposition  which, 
just  in  the  degfee  in  which  it  prevails,  unfits  a  man  for  his 
duty  to  God  and  to  man,  makes  him  a  rebel  to  the  one  and 
an  oppressor  to  the  other ;  and  in  any  view  we  can  take  of 
it,  it  counteracts  God's  design  to  glorify  himself  in  making 
his  creatures  happy.  The  divine  disapprobation  against 
pride  is  strongly  marked  in  an  endless  variety  of  ways.  It 
is  deeply  impressed  on  the  constitution  of  man  as  God's 
work,  whether  you  consider  the  misery  it  inflicts  on  its  sub- 
jects, or  the  disapprobation  and  dislike  it  produces  in  all 
who  witness  it.  An  apocryphal  writer  has  said,  "  Pride 
was  not  made  for  man."  ^  It  may  be  with  equal  truth 
said,  Man  was  not  made  for  pride.  It  is  a  disposition  he 
cannot  indulge  without  making  himself  unhappy.  They 
sadly  err  who  "  count  the  proud  happy."  There  is  har- 
mony in  all  God's  works,  and,  to  make  man  happy,  his 
disposition  must  correspond  to  his  condition  :  a  proud  being, 
who  is  at  the  same  time  a  dependent  being,  entirely  depen- 
dent on  God,  to  a  great  extent  dependent  on  his  fellow-men, 
must  be  miserable.  His  whole  life  is  a  struggle  to  be  and 
to  appear  to  be  what  he  is  not,  what  he  never  can  be. 

The  disapprobation  of  pride  by  God  is  evident,  not  only 

in  his  having  so  constituted  man  as  that  the  proud  man 

cannot  be  happy,  but  in  his  so  constituting  man  as  that 

the  proud  man  is  the  natural  object  of  disapprobation  and 

1  Ecclus.  X.  18. 


PART  III  ]  MUTUAL  DUTIES.  273 

dislike  to  all  other  men.  No  class  of  men  are  more  disliked 
than  proud  men.  And  how  could  God  more  distinctly  mark 
his  disapprobation  of  pride,  than  by  constituting  human 
nature  so,  that  the  display  of  pride  should  excite  in,  and 
draw  forth  from  men,  sentiments  directly  opposite  to  those 
which  the  proud  man  wishes  ?  He  seeks  admiration,  he 
meets  with  contempt.  No  one  really  wishes  to  gratify  the 
proud,  and  his  mortification  affords  general  satisfaction. 

In  the  ordinary  course  of  his  providential  dispensations, 
God  so  often  shows  his  opposition  to  pride,  that  it.  has 
become  a  proverb,  that  "  a  haughty  spirit  goeth  before  a 
fall ;"  and  he  has  sometimes  departed  out  of  his  usual  mode 
of  procedure,  and  miraculously  shown  how  much  he  disap- 
proves of  haughtiness  in  man.  Nebuchadnezzar,  the  proud 
king  of  Babylon,  walked  in  the  palace  of  his  kingdom  ;  and 
as  he  walked,  he  spake  and  said,  "  Is  not  this  great  Babylon, 
which  I  have  built  for  the  house  of  the  kingdom,  by  the 
might  of  my  power,  and  for  the  honour  of  my  majesty?" 
How  strikingly  and  effectually  did  God  resist  this  proud 
man,  and  show  that  He,  the  King  of  heaven,  all  whose 
works  are  truth,  and  his  ways  judgments,  is  able  to  abase 
those  who  walk  in  pride  !  While  the  word  was  in  the 
king's  mouth,  there  fell  a  voice  from  heaven,  "  O  king 
Nebuchadnezzar,  to  thee  it  is  spoken.  The  kingdom  is 
departed  from  thee :  and  they  shall  drive  thee  from  men, 
and  thy  dwelling  shall  be  with  the  beasts  of  the  field  :  they 
shall  make  thee  to  eat  grass  as  oxen,  and  seven  times  shall 
pass  over  thee,  until  thou  know  that  the  Most  High  ruleth 
in  the  kingdom  of  men,  and  givetli  it  to  whomsoever  he  will. 
The  same  hour  was  the  thing  fulfilled  upon  Nebuchad- 
nezzar ;  and  he  was  driven  from  men,  and  did  eat  grass  as 
oxen,  and  his  body  was  wet  with  the  dew  of  heaven,  till  his 
hairs  were  grown  like  eagles'  feathers,  and  his  nails  like  birds' 
claws."     Take  another  example  :  "  Upon  a  set  day  Herod, 

VOL.  III.  s 


274  ECCLESIASTICAL  DUTIES,  [DISC.  XXI. 

arrayed  in  royal  apparel,  sat  on  his  throne,  and  made  an 
oration.  And  the  people  gave  a  shout,  '  It  is  the  voice  of  a 
god,  and  not  of  a  man.'  And  immediately  the  angel  of  the 
Lord  smote  him,  because  he  gave  not  God  the  glory :  and 
he  was  eaten  up  of  worms,  and  gave  up  the  ghost."  ^ 

The  plan  of  salvation  through  Christ  is  so  framed  as 
strikingly  to  show  that  "  God  resisteth  the  proud."  No 
man  can  become  a  partaker  of  its  blessings  who  does  not 
"  deny,"  renounce,  "  himself."  It  is  only  as  a  being  de- 
serving, capable  of  deserving,  nothing  but  punishment,  and 
deeply  sensible  of  this,  that  any  man  can  obtain  the  pardon 
and  peace,  the  holiness  and  comfort,  of  the  Christian  salva- 
tion. "  The  rich"  in  their  own  estimation  are  "  sent  empty 
away."^  Men,  who  are  all  naturally  proud,  must  be  "con- 
verted, and  become"  humble  "  like  little  children,"  else  they 
cannot  enter  into  the  kingdom  of  heaven.  And  just  in  that 
degree  in  which  pride  prevails,  even  in  a  regenerate  man, 
will  lie  fail  to  enjoy  the  consolation  that  is  in  Christ.  The 
declarations  of  Scripture  on  this  subject  are  very  explicit : 
"  Pride  and  arrogancy  do  I  hate.  The  Lord  knoweth  the 
proud  afar  off.  The  lofty  looks  of  men  shall  be  humbled, 
and  the  haughtiness  of  man  shall  be  bowed  down  ;  and  the 
Lord  alone  shall  be  exalted.  For  the  day  of  the  Lord 
of  hosts  shall  be  upon  every  one  that  is  proud  and  lofty, 
and  upon  every  one  that  is  lifted  up,  and  he  shall  be 
brought  low."  ^  "  God,"  to  borrow  the  words  of  Archbishop 
Leighton,  "  singles  out  pride  as  his  great  enemy,  and  sets 
himself  in  battle-array  against  it,  as  the  word  is.'^  It 
breaks  the  ranks  of  men  in  which  he  hath  set  them,  when 
they  are  not  subject,  as  the  word  is  before ;  ^  yea,  it  not 
only  breaks  rank,  but  rises  up  in  rebellion  against  God,  and 

1  Dan.  iv.  29-33  ;  Acts  xii.  21-23.  2  Luke  i.  53. 

3  Prov.  \dii.  13;  Ps.  cxxxviii.  6;  Isa.  ii.  11,  12.  * 'Avr/raa-irsTa;. 

^  ' XTroTatxa'of/.iioi, 


PART  Ill.j  MUTUAL  DUTIES.  275 

dotli  what  it  can  to  dethrone  him  and  usurp  his  place. 
Therefore  he  orders  his  force  against  it ;  and  so  be  sure,  if 
God  be  able  to  make  his  part  good,  pride  shall  not  escape 
ruin.  He  will  break  it,  and  bring  it  low;  for  he  is  set 
upon  that  purpose,  and  will  not  be  diverted." 

While  God  thus  resists  the  proud,  "  he  giveth  grace  " — 
that  is,  he  shows  favour — "  to  the  humble."  Humility  is 
the  object  of  his  approbation,  and  he  shows  this  by  his 
conduct  to  those  who  are  characterized  by  it.  A  humble 
state  of  mind,  as  in  accordance  with  truth,  and  calculated 
to  promote  the  true  happiness  both  of  the  individual  who 
cherishes  it,  and  of  all  with  whom  he  is  connected,  must  be 
the  object  of  the  divine  approbation  ;  and  we  have  just  to 
reverse  the  representation  given  of  the  manifestation  of  the 
state  of  the  divine  mind,  in  reference  to  the  proud,  to  see 
how  he  shows  favour  to  the  humble.  He  does  so  in  the 
quiet  and  peace  of  mind  which,  from  the  very  constitution 
of  human  nature,  humility  produces  ;  and  in  the  compara- 
tive freedom  from  ill-will,  and  enjoyment  of  the  esteem  and 
good  wishes  of  others,  which  from  the  same  constitution  it 
secures.  The  more  deeply  a  man  realizes  his  insignificance 
as  a  creature,  and  his  demerit  as  a  sinner,  his  guilt  and 
depravity  and  helplessness,  the  more  readily  does  he  em- 
brace the  gospel  of  God's  grace,  "the  word  of  the  truth 
of  the  gospel,"  and  in  it  obtain  possession  of  all  heavenly 
and  spiritual  blessings.  It  is  the  man  who  knows  and 
believes  that  he  is  a  fool,  that  is  made  wise  ;  the  man  who 
has  no  hope  in  himself,  that  obtains  "  good  hope  through 
grace  ;"  the  man  who  sees  and  feels  that  he  is  nothing  but 
sin,  that  is  "made  the  righteousness  of  God  in  Christ;" 
the  man  who  loathes  himself,  that  is  "  sanctified  wholly  in 
the  whole  man — soul,  body,  and  spirit."  It  is  the  man  who 
most  feels  his  own  weakness,  that  is  most  "strengthened 
with   all  might   in   the   inner   man,"  and   experimentally 


276  ECCLESIASTICAL  DUTIES.  [DISC.  XXL 

understands  the  spiritual  paradox,  "When  I  am  weak, 
then  am  I  strong."  It  is  a  remark,  by  one  who  was  very 
intimately  acquainted  with  the  hidden  life,  "It  is  un- 
doubtedly the  secret  pride  and  selfishness  of  our  hearts 
that  obstructs  much  of  the  bounty  of  God's  hand,  in  the 
measure  of  our  graces  and  the  sweet  embraces  of  his  love, 
which  we  should  otherwise  find.  The  more  that  we  let  go 
of  ourselves,  still  the  more  should  we  receive  of  himself. 
Oh,  foolish  we,  that  refuse  so  blessed  an  exchange!"^  The 
passages  of  Scripture  in  which  God  declares  his  approba- 
tion of  humility,  and  his  delight  in  the  humble,  are  very 
numerous.  "  Though  the  Lord  be  high,  he  has  respect  to 
the  lowly.  He  forgets  not  the  cry  of  the  humble,  he  hears 
their  desire  ;  he  prepares  their  hearts,  he  causes  his  ear  to 
hear.  Thus  saith  the  high  and  lofty  One  who  inhabits 
eternity,  whose  name  is  Holy,  I  dwell  in  the  high  and  holy 
place,  with  him  also  that  is  of  a  contrite  and  humble  spirit, 
to  revive  the  spirit  of  the  humble,  and  to  revive  the  heart 
of  the  contrite  ones."  And  this  is  the  declaration  of  him 
who  came  to  reveal  the  character  and  will  of  his  Father, 
and  who  was  himself  meek  and  lowly  in  spirit :  "Whosoever 
shall  exalt  himself  shall  be  abased  ;  but  he  that  shall  humble 
himself  shall  be  exalted.  Blessed  are  the  poor  in  spirit ;  for 
theirs  is  the  kingdom  of  heaven."^ 

Leighton's  paraphrase  on  "  God  giveth  grace  to  the 
humble  "  is  characteristically  beautiful.  "  He  pours  it  out 
plentifully  on  humble  hearts.  His  sweet  dews  and  showers 
slide  off  the  mountains,  and  fiill  on  the  low  valley  of  humble 
hearts,  and  make  them  pleasant  and  fertile.  The  swelling 
heart,  puffed  up  with  a  fancy  of  fulness,  has  no  room  for 
grace,  is  not  hollowed  and  fitted  to  receive  and  contain  the 
graces  that  descend  from  above.    And  again,  as  the  humble 

^  Leigliton. 

2  Ps.  cxxxviii.  6,  x.  12,  17  ;  Isa.  Ivii.  15,  Ixvi.  2  ;  Matt,  xxiii.  12,  v.  3. 


PART  III.]  MUTUAL  DUTIES.  277 

heart  is  most  capable,  as  emptied  and  hollowed  out  it  can 
hold  most;  so  it  is  most  thankful,  acknowledges  all  as 
received.  But  the  proud  cries  all  is  his  own.  The  return 
of  glory  that  is  due  for  grace,  comes  most  freely  and  plenti- 
fully from  a  humble  heart.  God  delights  to  enrich  it  with 
grace,  and  it  delights  to  return  to  him  glory.  The  more 
he  bestows  on  it,  the  more  it  desires  to  honour  him  withal ; 
and  the  more  it  doth  so,  the  more  readily  he  still  bestows 
more  upon  it.  And  this  is  the  sweet  intercourse  between 
God  and  the  humble  soul.  This  is  the  noble  ambition  of 
humility,  in  respect  of  which  all  the  aspirings  of  pride  are 
low  and  base.  When  all  is  reckoned,  the  lowliest  mind  is 
truly  the  highest ;  and  these  two  agree  so  well,  that  the 
more  lowly  it  is,  it  is  thus  the  higher ;  and  the  higher  thus, 
it  is  still  the  more  lowly." 

Surely  this  is  a  powerful  motive  for  the  cultivation  of 
humility.  What  so  much  to  be  feared  as  God's  disappro- 
bation, and  what  so  much  to  be  desired  as  his  favour  ?  The 
command,  "Be  ye  clothed  with  humility,"  has  great  addi- 
tional force  from  the  consideration  that  this  was  the  chosen 
garb  of  our  Lord  and  King,  and  chosen  by  him  as  that  in 
which  he  could  both  best  serve  his  Father  and  his  people. 
Surely,  to  use  the  words  of  an  old  divine,  "  it  is  meet  that 
we  should  remember  that  the  blessed  Saviour  of  the  world 
hath  done  more  to  prescribe,  and  transmit,  and  secure  this 
grace  than  any  other,  his  whole  life  being  a  great  continued 
example  of  humility, — a  vast  descent  from  the  glorious 
bosom  of  his  Father  to  the  womb  of  a  poor  maiden,  to  the 
form  of  a  servant,  to  the  miseries  of  a  sinner,  to  a  life 
of  labour,  to  a  state  of  poverty,  to  a  death  of  malefactors, 
to  an  untimely  grave,  to  all  the  intolerable  calamities 
which  we  deserved ;  and  it  were  a  good  design,  and  yet 
but  reasonable,  that  we  should  be  as  humble  in  the  midst 
of  our  calamities  and  base  sins,  as  he  was  in  the  midst  of 


278  ECCLESIASTICAL  DUTIES.  [DISC.  XXI. 

his  fulness  of  the  Si^irit,  great  wisdom,  perfect  life,  and 
most  admirable  virtues."  ^ 

And  while  the  thought,  that  it  is  only  by  thus  putting 
on  humility  that  Christians  can  be  mutually  subject  to  and 
serve  each  other,  and  thus  promote  the  peace  and  prosperity 
of  the  Church  on  earth,  should  be  felt  as  a  powerful  incen- 
tive to  grow  in  this  grace ;  we  should  remember  also  that 
the  cultivation  of  this  grace  is  a  necessary  preparation  for 
the  holy  delights  of  the  Church  above.  They  to  whom,  on 
that  day  when  men's  destinies  shall  be  finally  fixed,  the 
universal  Judge  will  say,  "  Come,  ye  blessed  of  my  Father," 
are  those  who  can  scarcely  recognise  their  own  actions  in 
those  eulogized  by  him."  And  the  exercises  of  heaven  are 
such  as  only  the  humble  can  engage  in  with  satisfaction. 
They  fall  doM'n  on  their  faces  there  before  the  throne,  and 
him  who  sits  on  it ;  they  cast  their  crowns  at  his  feet.  The 
only  worthiness  they  celebrate  is  the  worthiness  of  the  Lamb 
that  was  slain ;  and  the  whole  glory  of  their  salvation  is 
ascribed  to  him,  of  whom,  and  through  whom,  and  to  whom 
are  all  things.  "  Salvation  to  our  God  which  sitteth  upon 
the  throne,  and  unto  the  Lamb."  We  must  be  formed  to  the 
temper  of  heaven,  if  we  would  be  sharers  in  its  joys.  We 
must  have  the  same  mind  in  us  as  is  in  the  holy  angels  and 
the  spirits  of  the  just  made  perfect,  if  we  would  be  admitted 
to  their  society,  and  participate  in  their  delights.  Were  we 
to  carry  pride  with  us  to  heaven,  it  would  soon  cast  us  out 
again,  as  it  did  the  angels  who  kept  not  their  first  estate. 
Let  us  then  earnestly  covet  a  large  measure  of  this  heavenly 
temper.  Let  it  be  our  constant  prayer,  that  the  Spirit  of 
all  grace  would  so  bring  the  truth  before  our  minds,  and 
keep  it  there,  respecting  our  condition  and  character  as 
creatures  and  sinners,  sinners  lost  by  their  own  inexcusable 
guilt,  saved  solely  by  the  sovereign  grace  of  God,  as  that 
1  Jeremy  Taylor.  2  Matt.  xxv.  37-39. 


DISC.  XXI.]  NOTES.  279 

every  rising  of  undue  self-complacency  may  be  repressed, 
and  that  we  may  be  enabled  to  "  walk  worthy  of  the  vocation 
wherewith  we  are  called,  with  all  lowliness  and  meekness ; 
with  long-suffering,  forbearing  one  another  in  love,  endea- 
vouring to  keep  the  unity  of  the  Spirit  in  the  bond  of 
peace."  Oh,  how  happy  the  church,  where  all  the  elders 
and  all  the  members  are  habitually  under  the  influence  of 
Christian  humility  !  May  that  blessing,  through  the  grace 
of  him  who  is  exalted  to  be  "  Head  over  all  things  to  his 
Church,"  be  increasingly  ours  I  And  tq  his  name  be  all 
the  glory. 


Note  A.  p.  214. 

How  different  was  the  spirit  which  animated  those  who  pre- 
tended to  be  Peter's  successors,  appears  strikingly  in  a  remark- 
able story  told  in  the  Clementine  Homilies  :  "  Peter,  wishing  to 
estabUsh  in  a  bishopric,  Zaccheus,  who  Avas  backward  to  accept 
of  it,  cast  himself  at  his  feet,  and  entreated  him  to  administer 
rriv  dp-)(y]v — the  princedom.  '  I  would  readily  do,'  said  Zaccheus, 
'  whatever  a  prince  ought  to  do ;  but  I  am  afraid  to  bear  the 
name,  because  it  exposes  to  so  much  envy  as  to  be  dangerous.' 
Peter  consented  that  Zaccheus  should  not  take  the  name  prince ; 
but  he  gave  him  all  the  authority  of  one.  Ka/  GoZ  ix,iv  'ipycv, 
said  he,  ■/.B}.svsir  ruiv  ds  ddsX(pjjv  v-:Tzr/.iiv  %ai  (xri  d-Tsidnv.  'It 
is  your  business  to  command ;  and  as  to  the  brethren,  it  is 
theirs  to  submit  to  and  obey  you.' "  It  is  universally  admitted 
that  the  Clementine  Homilies  are  forgeries;  but  they  are  very 
authentic  evidences  of  the  spirit  of  the  Roman  Church  at  the 
time  of  their  production.  The  bishops  are  there  represented 
as  AuvaoTa/,  jSacjiXsTc,  ds(f'rorai\  -Avpioi.  How  strangely  does  all 
this  contrast  with  the  words  of  the  One  Master  :  "  Call  no  man 
master  on  earth:  be  not  ye  called  masters!" — Horn.  Clem.  iii. 
63,  64,  66,  p.  646. 


280  NOTES.  [DISC.  XXI. 


Note  B.  p.  228. 

"  Twi;  yCKvifm  plurale :  singulare  gregis.  Ha'tixv/i  fMia — Grex 
unus  sub  uno  Pastore  principe  Christo :  sed  %'Kripot  portiones 
multse,  pro  numero  locorum  et  antistituni." — Bengel.  This  view 
throws  hght  on  the  whole  passage.  Among  the  nomadic  tribes 
wealth  consisted  almost  entirely  in  flocks  and  herds.  The  great 
proprietors  were  just  shepherds  on  a  great  scale.  " Kpyj-itot'i.inz^ 
'TTOifJt'Svig  aiv  £/V/  ra  'TpolSaTa  'ihia}  The  whole  Toi/j^vri  belonged  to 
them ;  but  under  them  there  were  -Troi/Mv^g,  each  of  whom  had 
his  own  TtKYipog.  The  ^  Ap-)(^i'zot(j.r\v  was  often  absent ;  but,  on  his 
coming  to  see  his  flocks,  he  would  notice  the  manner  in  which 
the  under  shepherds  had  treated  his  property,  and  deal  with  them 
accordingly. 

"  Vetustus  quidem  fuit  ille  loquendi  modus,  ut  totum  ordinem 
ministrorum  clerum  vocarent :  sed  utinam  Patribus  nunquam 
venisset  in  mentem  ita  loqui :  quia  quod  toti  Ecclesise  Scriptura 
communiter  tribuit,  minime  consentaneum  fuit  ad  paucos  homines 
restrin  gere. " — Calvin. 

"  Clerus  temporibus  Apostolorvim  erant  plebeii,  quod  apparet 
ex  prima  Petri  Epistola  majestuosa." — Scaliger. 

"  Cleros  vocat  non  diaconos  aut  presbyteros,  sed  gregem  qui 
cuique  forte  contigit  gubernandus  ;  ne  quis  existimet,  Episcopis 
in  Clericos  inter  dictum  dominium,  in  ceteros  esse  permissum. 
Et  presbyteros  hie  Episcopos  vocat.  Nondum  enim  increverat 
turba  sacerdotum  ;  sed  quot  erant  Presbyteri,  totidem  erant 
Episcopi." — Erasmus. 

*'  Olim  populus  Israeliticus  yj.ripoc,  sors,  sive  patrimonium  Dei, 
Dent.  iv.  20,  ix.  29.  Nunc  populus  Christianus";  cujus  singulse 
partes  ut  fieri  solet  sv  ofMysisgn  idem  nomen  participant." — 
Grotius. 

"  KXripoug  hereditates  vocat  Ecclesias  singidas,  quibus  singuli 
pastores  prseficiuntur." — Suicer. 

"  All  believers  are  God's  clergy." — Leighton. 

It  deserves  notice,  that  it  is  a  verb  derived  from  -/.X'/jpovg  which 
is  used.  Acts  xvii.  4,  to  describe  the  association  of  the  behevers 
with  Paul  and  Silas  at  Thessalonica — '^poSixXripui&riGav.    Our  trans- 
lators have  preserved  the  reference  in  their  version  "  consorted." 
1  John  X.  12 ;  Gen.  xlvii.  6  ;  1  Sam.  x:d.  7. 


DISC.  XXI.]  NOTES.  281 

"  KX'^povg  multi  Latinorum  interpretantur  clericos;  vervintamen 
longe  probabilivis  est,  per  cleros  intelligi  gregis  dominici  portiones, 
qua3  singulis  Episcopis  pascenda3  ac  regend^e  velut  sortito  obti- 
gerunt,  juxta  id  quod  Cyprianus  dicit,  Ecclesiam  esse  unam, 
cujus  singulas  portiones  singuli  Episcopi  in  solidum  tenent." — 

ESTIUS. 

Vater  takes  a  singular  view  of  the  meaning  of  the  term  here  : 
"  KXripuv  plurali  numero,  non  nisi,  Acts  i.  26,  eodemque  forsan 
significatu  et  hie."  In  this  case  xaray.vpi-jsiv  tujv  nXripuv  would 
signify  arbitrarily  to  overrule  the  votes,  to  disregard  the  Avill  of 
the  church,  when  manifested  by  their  giving  forth  their  ■/J.'/}poug. 

Note  C.  p.  238. 

A  Avord  of  similar  meaning  (KiavisTioi)  is  apparently  used  in 
the  New  Testament  to  signify  common  soldiers,  Mark  xiv.  51, 
as  well  as  in  the  profane  Greek  (Polyb.  iv.  IG,  iii.  62).  A 
similar  usage  prevails  in  the  Latin  language,  as  to  the  word  of 
corresponding  meaning  (Juvenis).  We  find  the  same  thing  in 
the  Hebrew  language  :  Abraham's  armed  servants  are  called  "  the 
young  men"  (D''"iyj),  Gen.  xiv.  24.  We  have  the  same  use  of 
the  word,  Jos.  ii.  1  ;  2  Sam.  ii.  14;  Gen.  xviii,  7;  Ps.  ex.  3. 
"  The  word  '  young '  possesses,  in  the  Christian  usage  of  various 
languages,  the  sense  of  '  lay.'     See  Bolten." — Steiger. 

"  'NsuTipoi  hie  non  videntur  esse  natu  minores ;  nam  oppon- 
untur  doctoribus,  sed  potius  auditores  et  discipuli,  eodem  fere 
sensu,  quo,  Liic.  xxii.  26,  6  /xe/'^wv  et  6  vidunpog  sibi  opponuntur." 

ROSENJIULLER. 

"  NiuiTepoi  opponrmtur  TpsslS-urspoig  et  ex  lege  oppositionis  in- 
telligendi  sunt  omnes  reHqui  qui  exceptis  Presbyteris  ecclesiam 
constituerent." — Kuttner. 

SCHOTANUS,  though  obviously  very  averse,  "  a  communi  Doc- 
torum  sententia  discedere  videri,"  states  very  distinctly,  and  de- 
fends very  successfully,  what  appears  to  me  the  true  meaning : 
— "Hie.  per  juniores  intelligimus  totam  ecclesiam.  Id  autem 
probamus  (1)  ex  repetitione  verbi  preshyteri ;  (2)  ex  coUatione 
in  verbis :  similiter ;  (3)  quia  summissionem  regimini  opponit ; 
(4)  quia  passim  ApostoH  quando  agunt  de  officiis  in  quibus 
mutuus  est  respectiis,  solent  utrumque  urgere.  Si  autem  quis 
dicat  nomen  illud  juniores  repugnari,  respondemus — nequequam. 


282  NOTES.  [DISC.  XXI. 

Nonne  Apostolus  Paulus  totam  Ecclesiam  Galaticam  'filiolos' 
vocat,  Gal.  iv.  19,  et  lisec  ratio  est,  quia  turn  temporis  pr^ecipue 
Ecclesiaj  prajficiebantur  qui  provectioris  a3tatis  erant." 

"  Per  juniores  autem  hoc  loco  maxime  intelKgitur  Grex  qui 
pendet  a  pastoribus,  quia  pastures  et  presbyteri,  maxima  ex  parte, 
electi  fuerunt  ex  senioribus  setate,  et  proinde  maxima  pars  gregis 
constabat  ex  junioribus." — Amesius.  "  Sicut  nomen,  senior,  praa- 
fectum  significat,  etiam  si  ffitate  sit  minor,  ita  nomen,  junior,  sive 
adolescens,  recte  interpretante  Beda,  subditum  omnem,  tametsi 
setate  superiorem  designat." — Hesselius. 

Note  D.  p.  266. 

"  Kofi^og  nodus  vinculum  quo  illigabantur  manicse  preesertim 
in  vestitu  servorum." — Bengel.  Grotius  gives  the  following 
quotation . from  Pollux,  lib.  iv.,  which  is  quite  to  the  point: — 
Tfi  Tojv  dovXoov  st,(*>juhi  %ai  ijJMTibiov  ri  TpoffxsTrai  Xsvkov,  o  iy/J//,- 
^oiijjtt  Xsysrai.  Putting  on  the  sy/.6/j.l3oj//,a,  was  preparing  in  a 
becoming  manner  to  act  as  a  servant — assuming  the  appearance 
and  preparing  for  the  duties  of  the  servile  state.  "'E^xo/^^w/xa 
vestis  humilis  et  servorum  erat :  qui  cum  breves  tunicas  quas 
l7ru/j,ldac  vocant  gestarent,  super  has  syxo/j.^u/Ma  induere  sole- 
bant  ;  palliolum  vilissimiun  sed  candidum ;  quod  et  £T//3x>3/j(,a,  ut 
observant  antiqui,  dicebant." — Heinsius,  Sac.  Exercit.  p.  577. 


DISCOURSE   XXIL 

TWO  VIEWS  OF  AFFLICTION  AND  ITS  DUTIES. 

"Humble  yourselves  therefore  under  the  mighty  hand  of  God,  that  he  maj' 
exalt  you  in  due  time  ;  casting  all  your  care  upon  him  ;  for  he  careth  for  you." 
—1  Pet.  v.  6,  7. 

There  are  few  practical  questions  of  deeper  and  more 
extensive  interest  than,  How  should  we  conduct  ourselves 
amid  the  afflictions  of  life  so  as  to  be  best  sustained  under 
them,  most  improved  by  them,  and  soonest  and  most  cer- 
tainly delivered  from  them?  This  is  a  question  which 
concerns  us  all ;  for  however  we  may  differ  in  other  points 
of  view,  here  we  all  occupy  common  ground.  We  are  all 
sufferers.  It  is  not  less  universally  true  that  "  man  is  born 
of  a  woman,"  than  that  he  is  "  born  to  trovible."  It  is  cer- 
tain, too,  that  affliction,  though  in  all  forms  in  itself  an  evil, 
is  far  from  being  an  unmixed  evil ;  that  by  means  of  it, 
men,  constituted  and  circumstanced  as  they  are,  may  be 
made  wiser  and  better,  and  ultimately  happier,  than  they 
could  have  become  without  it.  "  It  has  been  good  for  me 
that  I  have  been  afflicted,"  says  the  Psalmist.  "  Chastise- 
ment yieldeth  peaceable  fruits,"^  says  the  apostle.  And 
there  is  "  a  great  cloud  of  witnesses"  of  the  wisest  and  the 
best,  in  every  age,  all  of  whom  have  set  to  their  seal  that 
this  testimony  is  true. 

It  is,  however,  just  as  certain  that  there  have  been  many 
sufferers  who  could  not  truly  make  the  Psalmist's  declaration 
^  Job  xiv.  1  ;  Ps.  cxix.  71  ;  Heb.  xii.  11. 


284  AFFLICTION.  [DISC.  XXII. 

their  own.  It  has  not  been  good  for  them  that  they  have 
been  afflicted.  They  were  bad  when  affliction  seized  them  ; 
they  did  not  improve  under  its  grasp  ;  and  now  that  it  has 
let  them  go,  they  are  worse  than  ever.  Indeed,  the  waters 
sent  forth  from  the  fountain  of  affliction  seem  in  themselves 
poisonous  as  well  as  bitter.  The  infusion  of  a  foreign  in- 
gredient into  them  appears  to  be  necessary  to  make  them 
salutary,  or  even  safe.  Their  effects  are  usually  powerful ; 
but  they  often  aggravate  rather  than  mitigate  moral  disease. 

The  different  effects  of  affliction  on  different  individuals 
depend  mainly  on  their  being  or  their  not  being  under  the 
influence  of  the  Holy  Spirit ;  and  that  is  chiefly  manifested 
in  the  views  they  entertain  of  affliction,  and  in  the  disposi- 
tions they  cherish  under  affliction, — two  things  which  are 
very  closely  connected  wath  each  other.  Tlie  influence  of 
affliction  on  the  mind  and  character  of  a  man  who  considers 
his  sufferings  as  the  effect  of  blind  chance  or  unintelligent 
necessity,  or  of  intelligent  but  malignant  power,  and  who 
is  inconsiderate,  or  proud,  or  fretful,  or  desponding  under 
them,  must  be  very  different  from  its  influence  on  the 
mind  of  a  man  who  considers  his  sufferings  as  proceeding 
from  the  appointment  and  inflicted  by  the  agency  of  the 
infinitely  powerful,  wise,  righteous,  and  benignant  Sovereign 
of  the  universe, — as  tokens  of  displeasure  against  sin,  yet 
means  of  reclaiming  sinners, — as  important  parts  of  God's 
mysterious  economy  for  making  foolish,  depraved,  miser- 
able man,  wise,  and  good,  and  happy ;  and  who  cultivates 
a  thoughtful,  submissive,  prudent,  devout,  patient,  hopeful 
disposition  under  them. 

The  moral  effect  of  affliction  on  an  irreligious  or  super- 
stitious mind  cannot  but  be  mischievous,  though  it  will  vary 
with  the  variety  of  character  and  circumstance,  and  take 
the  form,  in  one  case,  of  stupid  insensibility ;  in  another, 
of  querulous  fretfulness;  in  another,  of  hopeless  despon- 


DISC.  XXII.]  AFFLICTION.  285 

dency ;  in  another,  of  hardened  impiety.  It  will  in  every 
such  case  drive  men  from  God,  not  draw  them  towards 
him.  It  will  make  them  worse  and  more  miserable,  not 
better  and  happier ;  it  will  fit  them  for  hell,  not  for  heaven. 

On  the  other  hand,  the  moral  effect  of  affliction  in  a  mind 
enlightened  with  heavenly  truth,  and  a  heart  pervaded  by 
holy  influence,  must  be  in  a  very  high  degree  advantageous. 
Every  principle  of  the  new  life, — such  as  faith,  hope,  peni- 
tence, patience,  humility,  self-sacrifice, — is  exercised  and 
strengthened ;  and  the  result  is,  increased  conformity  in 
mind  and  will,  and  choice  and  enjoyment,  with  the  all-wise, 
the  all-holy,  the  all-benignant,  the  ever-blessed  God.  Who 
would  not  wish  that  his  afflictions  might  have  this  result  1 
We  must  be  chastened ;  that  is  a  settled  point.  "  To  each 
his  sufferings,  all  are  men."^  Who  would  not  tremble  to 
be  so  chastened  as  to  be  destroyed  with  the  world?  who 
would  not  desire  to  be  so  chastened  as  to  be  made  partakers 
of  God's  holiness  ?  It  is  this  book  that  alone  can  so  instruct 
us  in  the  true  nature  of  afflictive  dispensations,  and  in  the 
right  way  of  dealing  with  these  dispensations,  as  that  it 
may  be  secured  that  in  our  case  the  last,  and  not  the  first, 
result  shall  be  realized.  We  must  go  to  the  school  of  reve- 
lation in  order  to  learn  how  to  behave  ourselves  in  the  school 
of  affliction  so  as  to  obtain  improvement  there  ;  and  a  most 
instructive  lesson  of  this  kind  may  be  derived  from  that 
interesting  passage  of  inspired  Scripture  which  has  been 
read  as  the  subject  of  discourse.  May  the  great  Teacher, 
who  makes  all  whom  he  teaches  apt  to  learn,  enable  us  so 
to  improve  it  as  that  "  his  rod  and  reproof,"  when  he  sees 
meet  to  subject  us  to  them,  may  more  than  ever  "  give 
wisdom  !" 

These  words  present  us  with  two  interesting  views  of 
affliction, — first,  as  a  state  of  subjection  to  the  mighty  hand 

1  Gray. 


286  AFFLICTION.  [DISC.  XXII. 

of  God ;  and  secondly,  as  a  state  of  anxiety  and  careful- 
ness,— and  with  two  corresponding  views  of  the  duty  of  the 
Christian  under  affliction,  each  accompanied  with  its  appro- 
priate motive.  In  the  first  view  of  affliction,  the  Christian 
is  to  humble  himself  under  the  mighty  hand  of  God ;  and 
he  is  to  do  this  because  humility  is  well-pleasing  to  God, 
because  it  is  the  hand  of  God,  the  mighty  hand  of  God, 
that  he  is  under,  and  because  doing  so  is  the  appointed  way 
to  be  exalted  in  due  time  ;  and  in  the  second  view  of  afflic- 
tion, the  Christian  is  to  cast  all  his  cares  on  God,  and  he  is 
to  do  this  because  God  cares  for  him.  This  is  the  outline 
I  mean  to  fill  up  in  the  remaining  part  of  the  discourse  ; 
and  in  doing  this,  I  shall  not  first  consider  the  two  views 
of  affliction,  then  the  two  views  of  the  duty  of  the  Christian 
under  affliction,  and  then  the  two  views  of  motive  urging 
to  the  performance  of  these  duties ;  but  I  shall  successively, 
as  the  apostle  does,  take  up  each  connected  view  of  afflic- 
tion, duty,  and  motive. 

Before  entering  on  this,  however,  it  may  be  proper  to 
say  a  word  or  two  on  the  manner  in  which  these  two  verses 
are  connected  with  the  immediately  preceding  context.  In 
the  close  of  his  directory  respecting  ecclesiastical  duties, 
the  apostle  recommends  the  cultivation  of  humility  as  neces- 
sary to  that  mutual  subjection  by  which  all  in  Christian 
fellowship,  whether  office-bearers  or  private  members,  whe- 
ther elders  or  juniors,  should  be  distinguished  ;  calling  them 
to  put  it  on  as  their  appropriate  dress  when  in  love  they 
served  each  other  ;  and  he  strengthens  his  recommendation 
by  quoting  an  Old  Testament  oracle,  in  which  God's  com- 
placent approbation  of  the  humble,  and  his  indignant 
reprobation  of  the  proud,  are  strongly  expressed.  "  God 
resisteth  the  proud,  and  givetli  grace  to  the  humble."  And 
in  proceeding  to  offer  them  some  advices  suited  to  those 
circumstances  of  persecution  and  trial  to  which,  by  the 


PART  I.]         THE  MIGHTY  HAND  OF  GOD.  287 

appointment  of  God,  and  through  the  direct  and  indirect 
agency  of  the  great  adversary  the  devil,  they  were  ah'eady 
exposed,  and  w^ere  Hkely  soon  to  be  still  more  exposed,  he 
naturally,  in  so  high  a  recommendation  of  humility  as  a 
disposition  peculiarly  pleasing  to  God,  finds  a  ground  for 
enjoining  on  them  the  cultivation  and  display  of  this  virtue 
in  reference  to  their  afHictions  viewed  as  the  work  of  God's 
hand :  "  God  resisteth  the  proud,  and  giveth  grace  to  the 
humble.  Humble  yourselves  therefore  under  the  mighty 
hand  of  God."  The  quotation  from  the  Old  Testament  is 
brought  forward  as  a  motive  to  enforce  equally  the  injunc- 
tion that  precedes  it,  and  the  injunction  that  follows  it. 

I.  FIRST  VIEW  OF  AFFLICTION,  AND  ITS  DUTY. 

§  1.  Ajiiction  is  subjection  to  the  mighty  hand  of  God} 

The  first  view  here  given  us  of  a  state  of  afHiction  is,  that 
it  is  a  state  of  subjection  to  the  mighty  hand  of  God.  The 
words  of  the  apostle  are  equivalent  to.  Being  in  affliction, 
ye  are  under  the  mighty  hand  of  God  ;  humble  yourselves 
under  it.  "  The  hand  of  God,"  like  "  the  arm  of  the 
Lord,"  is  a  figurative  expression  for  the  power  of  God  in 
action,  as  men  put  forth  their  power  by  their  arm  and 
hand.  He  is  said  to  have  brought  his  people  from  Egypt 
"  by  strength  of  hand  ; "  that  is,  by  the  exertion  of  power. 
It  is  said,  "  None  can  stay  his  hand,"  none  can  prevent  or 
control  the  exertion  of  his  power.  When  Job  expresses  a 
wish  that  by  an  act  of  divine  power  he  might  be  destroyed, 
he  says,  "  Oh  that  it  would  please  God  to  let  loose  his  hand, 
and  cut  me  off;"  and  speaking  of  the  power  of  God  as  the 
efficient  cause  of  all  things,  he  says,  "  The  hand  of  the 
Lord  hath  done  this,  in  whose  hand  is  the  soul  of  every 
living  thing,  and  the  breath  of  all  mankind."^  The  epithet 
^  Vide  note  A,  ~  Job.  vi.  9,  xii.  10. 


288  AFFLICTION.  [DISC,  XXII. 

"  mighty"  is  added  to  suggest  the  idea  of  great,  resistless 
energy. 

To  have  the  hand  of  God  on  a  person,  to  be  in  his  hand, 
or  under  his  hand,  does  not  necessarily  indicate  being  in  a 
state  of  affliction.  It  merely  means  that  the  power  of  God 
is  exercised  with  regard  to  that  person.  Jehovah  is  said  by 
Moses  to  "  love  his  people  ;"  and  in  a  parallel  case  he  adds, 
"All  his  saints  are  in  thy  hand,"  protected  by  thy  power. 
"  The  hand  of  our  God,"  says  Ezra,  "  is  upon  all  them  for 
good  that  seek  him ;  but  his  power  and  his  wrath  is  against 
all  them  that  forsake  him.  The  hand  of  our  God  was  upon 
us,  and  he  delivered  us  from  the  hand  of  the  enemy."  The 
powerful  inspiring  influence  of  the  Holy  Spirit  is  described 
as  the  hand  of  the  Lord  being  on  the  prophets,  in  the  cases 
of  Elijah  and  Ezekiel.  But  the  phrase  is  very  often  used 
in  a  more  specific  sense,  as  descriptive  of  the  power  of  God 
put  forth  for  punishment  or  chastisement.  It  is  said,  "  the 
hand  of  the  Lord  was  heavy  on  the  men  of  Ashdod,"  when 
he  visited  them  with  a  severe  judgment.  "  The  hand  of 
the  Lord  is  on  thy  cattle,"  said  Moses  to  Pharaoh,  when  he 
announced  the  plague  of  murrain.  "  Have  pity  on  me," 
says  Job,  "  Have  pity  on  me,  O  my  friends,  for  the  hand 
of  God  hath  touched  me."  "  Day  and  night,"  says  the 
Psalmist,  "  thy  hand  was  heavy  on  me.  Thine  arrows  stick 
fast  in  me  ;  thy  hand  presseth  me  sore."  ^  "  Let  me  not 
fall  into  the  hand  of  man,  but  into  the  hand  of  the  Lord," 
said  David,  when  called  to  choose  whether  war,  or  famine, 
or  pestilence  was  to  be  the  punishment  of  his  sin.  Some 
interpreters  consider  the  phrase  before  us,  "  under  the 
mighty  hand  of  God,"  as  merely  referring  generally  to  the 
being  entirely  at  the  disposal  of  God,  completely  in  his  hand; 

1  Deut.  xxxiii.  3 ;  Ezra  viii.  22,  31  ;  1  Kings  xviii.  46 ;  Ezek.  i.  3  ;  1 
Sam.  V.  11  ;  Ex.  ix.  3 ;  Job  xix.  21  ;  Ps.  xxxii.  4,  xxx\aii.  2  ;  1  Ckron. 
xxi.  13. 


PARTI]  THE  MIGHTY  HAND  OF  GOD.  289 

but  the  use  of  the  epithet  mighty,  and  the  contrast  of  the 
depressed  state  of  the  person  under  the  mighty  hand  of 
God,  with  tlie  state  of  elevation  promised  him  if  the  temper 
of  his  mind  should  properly  correspond  with  his  circum- 
stances, as  well  as  the  succeeding  context,  all  convince  me 
that  the  apostle  had  in  lii^  eye  "  the  manifold  trials,"  "  the 
afflictions,"  to  which,  as  a  part  of  the  Christian  brotherhood 
in  the  world,  those  to  whom  he  wrote  were  exposed.  The 
thought  which  he  wished  to  bring  strongly  before  their 
mind  is  this :  '  Those  afflictions  to  which  you  are  exposed 
are  the  result  of  the  divine  appointment  and  agency.'  Let 
us  shortly  illustrate  that  thought ;  it  is  an  important  one. 

"  Affliction  Cometh  not  forth  of  the  dust ;  trouble  doth 
not  spring  from  the  ground."  They  "  come  down  from 
above  ;"  they  "  come  forth  from  Him  who  is  wonderful  in 
counsel,  and  excellent  in  working."  ^  There  are  many  who 
think  and  feel  in  reference  to  afflictive  dispensations,  as  the 
Philistines  of  old  did,  when  they  said,  "  A  chance  hath 
happened  us."  But  there  is  neither  blind  chance  nor  unin- 
telligent necessity  in  God's  world.  "  He  worketh  all  things 
according  to  the  counsel  of  his  own  will."  No  event  occurs 
apart  from  his  plan,  and  the  execution  of  his  plan.  "  His 
counsel  stands,  and  he  doth  all  his  pleasure." " 

The  doctrine  of  providence,  a  particular  providence  (for 
it  is  not  very  easy  to  understand  what  is  meant  by  a  general 
providence  as  opposed  to  a  particular  one),  is  supported  by 
numerous  and  powerful  arguments,  deduced  from  rational 
principles,  as  well  as  from  the  declarations  of  inspired 
Scripture.  Admit  the  vrisdom,  the  power,  and  the  omni- 
presence of  the  Divine  Being,  and  you  cannot  consistently 
deny  his  providence.  "Are  not  two  sparrows,"  says  our 
Lord,  "  sold  for  a  farthing  ?  yet  one  of  them  shall  not  fall 

^  Job  V.  6  ;  James  i.  17  ;  Isa.  xxviii.  29. 
2  1  Sam.  vi.  9;  Eph.  i.  11  ;  Isa.  xlvi.  10. 

VOL.  III.  T 


290  AFFLICTION.  [DISC.  XXII. 

on  the  ground  without  your  Father :  even  the  hairs  of  your 
head  are  all  numbered."  ^  Can  He  who  cares  for  sparrows, 
and  numbers  the  hairs  of  our  head — can  he  be  inattentive 
to,  or  unconcerned  in,  what  so  closely  concerns  the  honour 
of  his  character,  and  the  highest  interests  of  his  people,  as 
their  afflictions  ? 

The  agency  of  God  in  the  afflictions  of  his  people  is  not 
only  deducible  from,  or  more  properly  involved  in,  the 
doctrine  of  his  universal  providence ;  but  it  is  taught  in  the 
most  explicit  terms  which  language  can  furnish  :  "  Shall 
there  be  evil,"  that  is,  suffering,  affliction  in  any  form,  "  in 
a  city,  and  the  Lord  hath  not  done  it  ?"  "  I  am  the  Lord, 
and  there  is  none  else ;  there  is  no  god  besides  me.  I  form 
the  light,  and  create  the  darkness ;  I  make  peace,  and 
create  evil.  I,  the  Lord,  do  all  these  things."  "  The  Lord 
killeth,  and  maketh  alive  :  he  bringeth  down  to  the  grave, 
and  bringeth  up.  The  Lord  maketh  poor,  and  maketh 
rich  :  he  bringeth  low,  and  he  lifteth  up."  "  See  now  that 
I,  even  I,  am  he,  and  there  is  no  god  with  me.  I  kill,  and 
I  make  alive ;  I  wound,  and  I  heal :  neither  is  there  any 
who  can  deliver  out  of  my  hand."  "  He  maketh  sore,  and 
bindeth  up  ;  he  woundeth,  and  his  hands  make  whole." 
The  person  accidentally  killed,  as  we  phrase  it,  is  by  Moses 
said  to  be  "  delivered  by  God  into  the  hands"  of  the  person 
who  unintentionally  deprived  him  of  life.^ 

And  we  are  to  consider  those  afflictions  as  proceeding 
from  the  hand  of  God,  not  merely  when  there  appears  to 
us  no  intermediate  agent,  whether  physical  or  intelligent,  as 
in  the  case  of  sudden  death  or  unaccountable  accident ; 
but  whatever  be  the  immediate  occasion, — whether  they 
occur  from  the  operation  of  what  we  call  natural  causes,  in 

1  Matt.  X.  29,  30. 

2  Amos  iii.  6  ;  Isa.  xlv.  7  ;  1  Sam.  ii.  6 ;  Deut.  xxxii.  39 ;  Job  v.  18  ; 
Ex.  xxi.  13. 


PART  I.]  THE  MIGHTY  HAND  OF  GOD.  291 

the  course  of  the  established  order  of  things,  or  from  the 
agency  of  intelhgent  beings,  human,  angelic,  or  infernal, — 
they  are  to  be  considered  as  coming  forth  from  him  "  of 
whom,  and  through  whom,  and  to  whom  are  all  things."^ 
The  miraculous  slaughter  of  Korah,  Dathan,  and  Abiram, 
for  whose  punishment  the  Lord  "  made  a  new  thing,"  and 
the  death  of  those  who  through  disease  or  old  age  were  cut 
off  in  the  wilderness,  were  equally  the  works  of  the  Lord, 
Wai's  which  spring  from  human  passions,  and  are  carried 
on  through  human  instrumentality,  equally  with  the  famine 
and  the  pestilence,  are  numbered  among  the  works  of  God ; 
and  their  ravages  are  "  desolations  which  he  makes  in  the 
earth."  ^  When  adversity  mingles  its  bitter  ingredients  in 
our  cup,  whatever  these  ingredients  are,  let  us  never  forget 
that  it  is  God  who  puts  that  cup  into  our  hand.  It  matters 
not  whether  our  affliction  springs  from  those  disastrous 
visitations  in  which  the  agency  of  man  has  no  part,  and  over 
which  it  has  no  control,  like  that  mysterious  blight  which 
has  lately  turned  into  rottenness  so  large  a  portion  of  the 
produce  of  our  fields  and  the  food  of  the  people ;  or  arises 
from  the  improvidence,  the  injustice,  or  the  cruelty  of 
human  beings ;  in  either  case  it  forms  a  part  of  the  ad- 
ministration of  Him  whose  kingdom  ruleth  all.  Job  spoke 
like  a  philosopher  as  well  as  a  saint, — his  words  were  those 
of  wisdom  as  well  as  of  piety, — when,  after  the  Sabeans 
had  carried  away  his  oxen,  the  fire  of  God  falling  from 
heaven  had  consumed  his  sheep,  the  Chaldeans  had  robbed 
him  of  his  camels  and  murdered  his  servants,  and  a  great 
wind  from  the  wilderness  had  buried  his  children  in  the 
ruins  of  his  eldest  son's  house,  he  said,  "  It  is  the  Lord." 
The  lightning  and  the  tempest,  the  Sabeans  and  the  Chal- 
deans, he  considered,  and  rightly,  as  the  instruments  (the 
human  beings  the  guilty  instruments)  of  the  execution  of 
1  Rom.  xi.  36.  2  pg.  xlvi.  8. 


292  AFFLICTION.  [DISC.  XXII. 

God's  most  holy  and  righteous  appointment.  "  The  Lord," 
said  he,  "  gave,  and  the  Lord  hath  taken  away ;  blessed  be 
the  name  of  the  Lord."  ^  And  He  of  whose  faith  and 
patience  Job's  afford  but  a  faint  resemblance,  amid  his 
unparalleled  sufferings,  proceeding  in  a  great  measure 
directly  from  the  malignant  agency  of  men  and  devils, 
looked  beyond  Judas  and  his  band,  Caiaphas  and  the  chief 
priests,  the  denial  of  Peter  and  the  flight  of  the  disciples, 
Pontius  Pilate  and  the  Poman  soldiers,  the  prince  of  dark- 
ness and  his  hosts,  to  Him  whose  high  and  holy  determi- 
nation all  these  were  unconsciously  and  most  wickedly 
carrying  into  accomplishment,  and  with  meek  reverence 
and  devout  submission  said,  "  The  cup  which  my  Father 
hath  given  me,  shall  I  not  drink  it  ?"  ^ 

This  important  principle,  that  our  afflictions  are  the  work 
of  God,  seems  the  principal  truth  intended  to  be  taught  by 
the  representation  before  us ;  a  truth,  the  apprehension  of 
which  is  absolutely  necessary  to  the  deriving  of  any  spiritual 
advantage  from  affliction.  A  conviction  of  this  will  per- 
suade us  that  our  afflictions  are  not  the  effect  of  caprice  or 
of  cruelty ;  that  they  are  the  result  of  design,  wise  design, 
benignant  design, — sent  to  serve  a  purpose,  a  holy  and 
benevolent  purpose. 

The  words,  however,  seem  further  to  indicate,  what  we  are 
very  ready  to  forget,  that  in  affliction  God  is  very  near  us. 
He  is  always  so,  ever  at  our  right  and  left  hand,  intently 
looking  on  us ;  but  in  affliction,  to  rouse  us  to  the  fact  of 
his  nearness,  he,  as  it  were,  lays  his  hand  on  us  ;  and  we 
are  stupid  indeed  if  we  still  continue  inapprehensive  of  his 
presence. 

Affliction,  as  a  laying  God's  hand  on  us,  intimates  not 
only  that  he  is  near  us,  but  that  he  is  actually  dealing  with 
us  :  he  has  business  with  us,  he  has  to  do  with  us,  and  we 
1  Job  i.  21.  2  John  xviii.  11. 


PART  I.]         THE  MIGHTY  HAND  OF  GOD.  293 

have  to  do  with  him.  He  has  accounts  to  settle  with  us ; 
he  is  not  satisfied  with  us ;  we  are  not  what  he  would  have 
us  to  be.  If  we  were,  he  would  not  indeed  let  us  alone — 
that  were  a  dreadful  evil ;  but  he  would  interfere  only  to 
give  new  proofs  of  his  love  in  new  gifts  of  his  grace  :  his 
hand  would  never  be  on  us  for  chastisement ;  it  would  be 
on  us  onlj  for  good.  He  does  not  afflict  willingly.  If  he 
gives  us  a  blow,  assuredly  we  deserve  it.  We  have  provoked 
it.     It  comes  from  a  reluctant  hand. 

Still  further,  in  the  case  of  God's  own  people — and  it  is  of 
them  the  apostle  is  speaking — affliction,  viewed  as  laying  his 
hand  on  them,  is  a  manifestation  of  kind  interest  in  them. 
He  has  not  given  them  up  ;  He  means  to  make  something 
of  them  ;  He  smites  because  he  loves  them  ;  He  "  chastens 
them  for  their  profit."  It  is  not  the  stroke  of  a  cruel  one ; 
it  is  not  the  hand  of  tlie  destroyer.  To  vary  the  figure, 
affliction  with  them  is  as  "  the  refiner's  fire,  and  the  fuller's 
soap."  "  He  sits  as  a  refiner  and  purifier  of  silver ;  and  he 
shall  purify  them  and  purge  them  as  gold  and  silver,  that 
they  may  offer  to  the  Lord  an  offering  of  righteousness."^ 

§  2.   Our  duty  in  ajffiiction  is  to  ^' Immhle  ourselves  under  the 
mighty  hand  of  God^ 

Having  thus  considered  the  Christian's  state  of  affliction 
as  a  state  of  subjection  to  God's  chastening  hand,  let  us 
now  consider  the  corresponding  view  the  apostle  gives  of 
their  duty :  Christians  are  to  "  humble  themselves  under 
the  mighty  hand  of  God."  The  command  is  equivalent  to 
"  Despise  not  the  chastening  of  the  Lord."  Rebel  not 
against  it,  fret  not  under  it,  murmur  not  at  it,  call  not  in 
question  either  Jehovah's  right,  or  the  manner  in  which  he 
asserts  it.  Beware  of  doubting  the  wisdom,  or  the  right- 
eousness,  or  the  kindness  of  the  visitation.  '•  Be  still,  and 
1  Heb.  xii.  10 ;  Mai.  iii.  3. 


294  AFFLICTION.  [DISC.  XXII. 

know  that  He  is  God."  "  Glorify  the  Lord  in  the  fires." 
"  Sanctify  the  Lord  God  in  your  heart."  "  Hear  the  rod, 
and  Him  who  has  appointed  it."  ^  The  whole  truth  on  this 
subject  may  be  comprehended  in  the  threefold  injunction : 
Humble  yourselves  under  the  mighty  hand  of  God,  as 
creatures  under  the  hand  of  their  Creator ;  as  subjects 
under  the  hand  of  their  Sovereign  ;  as  children  under  the 
hand  of  their  Father. 

(L)  As  creatures  under  the  hand  of  the  Creator. 

Christians  in  affliction  should  humble  themselves  as  crea- 
tures under  the  hand  of  their  Creator.  Pride,  impatience, 
murmuring,  and  rebellion  under  affliction,  which  all  flow 
from  pride,  are  absolutely  monstrous  in  a  creature  under 
the  hand  of  the  Creator.  What  is  the  creature  but  what 
the  Creator  has  made  him  ?  What  has  he  but  what  God 
has  given  him  ?  Is  not  he  and  all  that  he  has  far  more  the 
Creator's  property  than  his  own  ?  Is  he  not,  must  he  not 
be,  ought  he  not  to  be,  entirely  dependent  on,  submissive 
to,  Him  who  made  him  ?  "  Hath  not  the  potter  power 
over  the  clay?"  "Shall  the  clay  say  to  him  who  fashioned 
it.  What  makest  thou  ?  or  the  work  to  him  who  formed  it. 
Thou  hast  no  hands  ?"  "Shall  the  axe  boast  itself  against 
him  that  heweth  therewith  ?  or  shall  the  saw  magnify  itself 
against  him  that  shaketh  it?  as  if  the  rod  should  shake 
itself  against  them  that  lift  it  up,  or  as  if  the  staff  should 
lift  up  itself,  as  if  it  were  no  wood."'^  In  affliction  we  feel 
the  touch  of  that  hand  which  made  us,  and  which  can  easily 
turn  us  to  dust  again.  Surely,  in  these  circumstances,  it 
is  meet  to  acknowledge  that  we  are  "  nothing,  less  than 
nothing,  and  vanity,"  before  him  "  who  was,  and  is,  and  is  to 
come,  the  Almighty ;"  "  of  whom,  and  through  whom,  and 

1  Ps.  xlvi.  10  ;  Isa.  xxiv.  15,  viii.  13  ;  Mic.  vi.  9. 

2  Eom.  ix.  22  ;  Isa.  xlv.  9,  x.  15. 


PART  I.]  THE  MIGHTY  HAKD  OF  GOD.  295 

to  whom  are  all  things."  We  should  even  wonder  that  he 
takes  so  much  notice  of  us  as  to  send  us  salutary  afflictions. 
"  Lord,  what  is  man,  that  thou  takest  knowledge  of  him  ! 
or  the  son  of  man,  that  thou  makest  account  of  him  !  that 
thou  shouldest  visit  him  every  morning,  and  try  him  every 
moment  1 — man  who  is  like  unto  vanity ;  whose  days  are 
as  a  shadow  that  passeth  away."  ^ 

(2.)  As  subjects  under  the  hand  of  their  Sovereign — rebel 
subjects  under  the  hand  of  their  righteously  offended 
Sovereign. 

Christians  should  humble  themselves  in  affliction  as  sub- 
jects under  the  hand  of  their  Sovereign,  as  rebel  subjects 
under  the  hand  of  their  righteously  offended  Sovereign. 
If  creatures  should  be  humble  just  because  they  are  crea-' 
tures,  sinful  creatures  are  tenfold  bound  to  be  humble.  In 
the  being  sinners,  everything  base  and  degrading  is  neces- 
sarily included.  There  is  no  folly  like  sin,  no  baseness  like 
sin.  Affliction  is  intended  to  bring  sin  to  remembrance. 
We  should  never  forget  our  guilt  and  depravity,  and  the 
state  of  condemnation  and  debasement  into  which  they  have 
brought  us ;  but  in  the  day  of  affliction  we  should  especially 
say,  "I  remember  my  faults  this  day:"  I  lay  my  hand  on 
my  mouth,  my  mouth  in  the  dust,  unclean,  unclean.  I 
have  no  ground  of  complaint,  I  can  have  none.  I  deserve 
no  good.  I  deserve  all  evil.  "  It  is  of  the  Lord's  mercies 
I  am  not  consumed."^  Does  it  not  become  rebels  justly 
doomed  to  death,  spared  by  the  clemency  of  their  insulted, 
injured  sovereign,  yet  bearing  ever  on  them  distinct  marks 
of  their  crime,  and  both  of  his  unmerited  clemency  and 
just  displeasure — does  it  not  become  them  to  be  humble  ? 
Deep  self-abasement  is  the  becoming  temper  in  him  who 
knows  that  he  has  incurred  the  righteous  displeasure  of 
1  Ps.  cxliv.  3,  4.  2  Lam.  iii.  22. 


296  AFFLICTION.  [DISC.  XXII. 

God  by  innumerable,  unprovoked  violations  of  the  law  that 
is  holy,  just,  and  good ;  and  that  in  him,  that  is,  in  his 
flesh,  dwells  no  good  thing.  Deep  self-abasement  is  the 
temper  which  becomes  him  at  all  times,  and  especially 
when  he  is  under  the  mighty  hand  of  God.  However  severe 
the  afflictions,  why  should  he  murmur?  Why  should  he 
complain ?  "A  man  for  the  punishment  of  sins ;"  a  man 
punished,  but  punished  far  less  than  his  iniquities  deserve  ? 
"  Surely  it  is  meet  to  be  said  unto  God,  I  have  borne 
chastisement,  I  will  not  offend  any  more  :  that  which  I  see 
not,  teach  thou  me ;  if  I  have  done  iniquity,  I  will  do  so  no 
more."  The  lano;uae;e  of  his  heart  should  be,  "  Righteous 
art  thou,  O  Lord,  when  I  plead  with  thee."  "  Behold,  I 
am  vile ;  what  shall  I  answer  thee,  O  thou  Preserver  of 
rnen?"  "I  have  sinned,  I  have  committed  iniquity,  I  have 
done  wickedly,  I  have  rebelled  by  departing  from  thy 
precepts  and  from  thy  judgments.  O  Lord,  righteousness 
belongeth  to  thee,  but  to  me  confusion  of  face,  because  I 
have  sinned  against  thee."^  Thus  does  it  become  the  sinner, 
under  the  mighty  hand  of  God,  to  "  sit  alone  and  keep 
silence,  to  put  his  mouth  in  the  dust,  if  so  be  there  may  be 
hope."  This  kind  of  humbling  a  person's  self  is  just  as 
becoming  the  converted  as  the  unconverted  man.  It  will 
for  ever  continue  a  fact  that  he  has  broken  God's  holy  law, 
and  had  a  thoroughly  depraved  nature ;  and  the  recollec- 
tion of  these  facts,  which  affliction  is  intended  to  recall  to  the 
mind,  should  for  ever  hide  pride  from  the  Christian's  eyes. 

(3.)  As  children  under  the  hand  of  their  Father. 

But  the  Christian  stands  to  God  in  the  relation  not  only 
of  a  creature  to  the  Creator,  not  only  of  a  subject  to  his 
Sovereign,  but  also  of  a  child  to  his  Father.     This  is  the 

1  Lam.  iii.  39  ;  Job  xxxiv.  31,  32  ;  Jer.  xii.  1  ;  Job  xl.  4,  vii.  20 ;  Dan. 
ix.  5,  7. 


PART  I.]         THE  MIGHTY  HAND  OF  GOD.  297 

peculiar  relation  in  -which  the  Christian  stands  to  God ;  and 
in  this  relation  he  ought,  in  the  season  of  affliction,  to 
"humble  himself  under  the  mighty  hand  of  God."  Of  all 
men,  it  least  becomes  the  Christian  to  question  the  wisdom 
or  righteousness  or  kindness  of  the  divine  afflictive  dis- 
pensations,  to  be  fretful  or  unsubmissive  under  the  mighty 
hand  of  God.  He  knows  the  character  of  him  who  inflicts 
chastisement ;  he  knows  how  richly  he  deserves  chastise- 
ment ;  he  knows  how  much  he  stands  in  need  of  chastise- 
ment; he  knows  the  true  nature  and  design  of  chastisement; 
and  therefore  he  ought  to  be  distinguished  by  the  humility 
of  reverence,  the  humility  of  acquiescence,  the  humility  of 
gratitude.  He  should  humbly  acknowledge  the  right  of 
him  who  inflicts  :  he  has  done  nothing  but  what  he  has  a 
good  right  to  do.  He  should  humbly  acknowledge  that  the 
affliction  was  not  unciilled  for:  he  has  got  nothing  but  what 
he  deserves  ;  and  that,  however  heavy,  it  might  have  been 
much  heavier,  without  affording  him  cause  either  of  sur- 
prise or  complaint.  And  he  should  humbly  acknowledge  his 
obligations  to  his  Father  in  heaven,  both  for  afflicting  him, 
and  afflicting  him  in  measure  ;  for  sending  the  very  afflic- 
tions, in  kind  and  degree,  which  infinite  wisdom  saw  he 
needed,  and  which  infinite  faithfulness  secures  shall  serve 
their  purpose.  I  cannot  conclude  this  part  of  the  subject 
better  than  in  the  words  of  the  apostle  in  his  Epistle  to  the 
Hebrews,  when  he  bids  them  not  forget  "  the  exhortation 
which  speaketh  unto  them  as  to  children.  My  son,  despise 
not  thou  the  chastening  of  the  Lord ; "  that  is,  in  other 
words,  Humble  yourself  under  his  mighty  hand,  "  For 
whom  the  Lord  loveth  he  chasteneth,  and  scourgeth  every 
son  whom  he  receiveth.  If  ye  endure  chastening,  God 
dealeth  with  you  as  with  sons  ;  for  what  son  is  he  whom 
the  father  chasteneth  not  ?  But  if  ye  be  without  chastise- 
ment, whereof  all  are  partakers,  then  are  ye  bastards,  and 


298  AFFLICTION.  [DISC.  XXII. 

not  sons.  Furthermore,  we  have  had  fathers  of  our  flesh 
which  corrected  us,  and  we  gave  them  reverence  :  shall  we 
not  much  rather  be  in  subjection  unto  the  Father  of  spirits, 
and  live  r'^ 

§  3.  Motives  to  humbling  ourselves  under  the  mighty  hand 
of  God. 

The  motives  which  either  Implicitly  or  explicitly  are  here 
urged  by  the  apostle  for  Christians  thus  humbling  them- 
selves under  the  mighty  hand  of  God,  come  now  to  be 
considered.     They  are  the  following  : — 

We  ought  thus  to  humble  ourselves  under  the  mighty 
hand  of  God,  for  this  is  just  a  particular  form  of  that 
humility  which  God  so  complacently  approves,  and  the 
opposite  of  which  he  so  indignantly  condemns.  "  God  re- 
sisteth  the  proud,  but  giveth  grace  to  the  humble.  Humble 
yourselves  therefore^^  for  this  reason,  "  under  the  mighty 
hand  of  God."  We  should  humble  ourselves  under  the  hand 
of  God,  just  because  it  is  the  hand  of  God.  We  should 
humble  ourselves  under  the  mighty  hand  of  God,  because 
it  is  the  mighty  hand  of  God.  Finally,  we  should  humble 
ourselves  under  the  mighty  hand  of  God,  because  this  is 
the  appointed  way  of  being  exalted  in  due  time. 

(1.)  It  is  a  paj-t  of  the  hamility  which  God  so  complacently 
approves. 

We  should  humble  ourselves  under  the  mighty  hand  of 
God,  for  this  is  the  course  of  which  God  complacently 
approves ;  while  the  opposite  is  a  course  which  he  indig- 
nantly condemns.  "  He  giveth  grace,"  he  manifests  favour, 
towards  those  who  humble  themselves  under  his  mighty 
hand ;  while  he  resists,  he  treats  as  enemies,  those  who 
despise  his  chastening,  and  rebel  under  the  rod.  This  is  a 
1  Heb.  xii.  5-9. 


PART  I.]  THE  MIGHTY  HAND  OF  GOD.  299 

most  powerful  motive.  What  makes  anything  duty  but 
its  being  according  to  the  will  of  God  made  known  to  us ; 
what  makes  anything  sin  but  its  being  opposed  to  the  will 
of  God  made  known  to  us  I  Besides,  the  conscious  pos- 
session of  the  cordial  love,  the  complacent  approbation  of 
the  greatest  and  wisest  and  best  Being  in  the  universe, 
arising  out  of  constant  manifestations  of  his  favour,  is  the 
highest  happiness  a  creature  can  enjoy.  It  is  the  essence 
of  the  happiness  of  holy  angels  and  the  spirits  of  the  just 
made  perfect.  On  the  other  hand,  to  be  resisted,  opposed, 
treated  as  an  enemy  by  him,  is  the  greatest  evil  a  creature 
can  be  exposed  to ;  it  is  the  essence  of  the  miseries  of  devils 
and  lost  human  beings. 

(2.)  It  is  the  hand  of  God  loe  are  called  to  humble  ourselves 

under. 

We  should  humble  ourselves  under  the  hand  of  God, 
just  because  it  is  the  hand  of  God.  We  should  be  humble 
in  reference  to  God,  because  he  is  God,  infinitely  great, 
wise,  and  holy ;  because  he  is  our  Creator,  our  Governor, 
our  Judge,  our  Father  ;  because  we  are  entirely  dependent 
on  him ;  because  we  are  pensioners  on  his  bounty ;  because 
we  have  incurred  his  displeasure,  and  are  completely  at  his 
mercy.  Humility  should  therefore  be  our  habitual  temper  to- 
wards God ;  but  when  we  are  visited  with  affliction,  when  his 
hand  is  on  us,  these  truths  are  more  directly  and  powerfully 
presented  to  the  mind.  We  are  brought  near  God.  He  who 
despises  the  chastisement  of  the  Lord,  as  it  were  insults  the 
Sovereign  at  a  personal  interview.  He  defies  the  Almighty 
even  when  he  appears  whetting  his  sword  and  bending  his 
bow.  "  He  stretcheth  out  his  hand  against  God,  and 
strengtheneth  himself  against  the  Almighty.  He  runneth 
on  him,  even  on  his  neck,  on  the  thick  bosses  of  his  buckler."^ 
1  Job  XV.  2G. 


300  AFFLICTION.  [DISC.  XXII. 

(3.)  It  is  the  migldy  hand  of  God  toe  are  called  to  humble 
ourselves  under. 

Christians  ought  to  humble  themselves  under  the  hand 
of  God,  for  that  hand  is  mighty ;  mighty  to  smite  still 
harder,  if  the  strokes  given  do  not  serve  their  purpose ; 
mighty  to  deliver  from,  as  well  as  to  inflict,  evil.  There 
is  no  striving  with  success  against  him.  As  Archbishop 
Leighton  says,  "  It  is  a  vain  thing  to  flinch  and  struggle, 
for  he  doth  wdiat  he  will ;  and  his  hand  is  so  mighty,  that 
the  greatest  power  of  the  creature  is  nothing  to  it ;  yea,  it 
is  all  indeed  derived  from  him,  and  therefore  cannot  do  any 
whit  against  him.  If  thou  wilt  not  yield,  thou  must  yield ; 
if  thou  wilt  not  lead,  thou  shalt  be  pulled  and  drawn  : 
therefore  submission  is  your  only  course." 

(4.)   To  humble  ourselves  under  the  mighty  hand  of  God,  is 
the  appointed  way  of  our  being  in  due  time  exalted. 

Finally,  Christians  should  humble  themselves  under  the 
mighty  hand  of  God,  for  this  is  the  appointed  way  to  their 
being  exalted.  "  Humble  yourselves  under  the  mighty 
hand  of  God,  that  ye  may  be  exalted."  That  humility 
leads  to  exaltation,  as  pride  to  degradation,  is  a  sentiment 
often  expressed  in  Scripture.  "  Before  honour  is  humility." 
"  A  man's  pride  shall  bring  him  low :  but  honour  shall 
uphold  the  humble  in  spirit."  "  He  that  exalteth  himself 
shall  be  abased  ;  but  he  that  humbleth  himself  shall  be 
exalted."^  In  the  providential  dealings  of  God,  as  recorded 
in  his  word,  we  have  many  very  remarkable  instances  of 
humbling  a  person's  self  under  the  mighty  hand  of  God 
leading  to  deliverance  from  calamity,  and  restoration  to 
prosperity.  When  the  princes  of  Israel,  on  the  desolations 
occasioned  by  the  invasion  of  Shishak,  king  of  Egypt, 
1  Prov.  XV.  33,  xxix.  23  ;  Luke  xiv.  II. 


PART  I.]  THE  MIGHTY  HAND  OF  GOD.  301 

"  humbled  themselves,  and  said,  The  Lord  is  rigliteous," 
"  the  Lord  saw  that  they  had  humbled  themselves  ;"  and 
he  said,  by  his  prophet  Shemaiah,  "They  have  humbled 
themselves ;  therefore  I  will  not  destroy  them,  but  I  will 
grant  them  some  deliverance."  When  their  prince,  king 
Rehoboam,  "humbled  himself,  the  wrath  of  God  turned 
from  him  :  also  in  Judah  things  went  well."  When  the 
king  of  Nineveh  and  his  people  humbled  themselves  under 
the  mighty  hand  of  God  lifted  up  to  smite  them,  "  He 
repented  of  the  evil  he  had  said  he  would  do  to  them," 
and  the  impending  stroke  was  averted.  When  Hezekiah 
"  humbled  himself  for  the  pride  of  his  heart,"  in  the  matter 
of  the  Babylonian  ambassadors,  the  threatened  wrath  of 
the  Lord  came  not  on  him.  When  Manasseh  was,  for 
his  enormous  transgressions,  "bound  with  fetters  and  taken 
to  Babylon,  he  in  affliction  besought  the  Lord  his  God,  and 
humbled  himself  greatly  before  the  God  of  his  fathers, 
and  prayed  to  him  ;  and  he  was  entreated  of  him,  and 
heard  his  supplication,  and  brought  him  again  to  Jerusalem 
into  his  kingdom.  Then  Manasseh  knew  that  the  Lord  he 
was  God."  When  even  Ahab,  to  whom  "  there  was  none 
like,  who  did  sell  himself  to  do  wickedness  in  the  sight  of 
the  Lord,"  humbled  himself,  Jehovah  said  to  Elijah,  "  Be- 
cause he  humbleth  himself  before  me,  I  will  not  bring  the 
evil  in  his  days."  And  to  notice  but  one  other  instance, 
when  Nebuchadnezzar,  who  for  his  pride  was  bereft  both  of 
his  reason  and  of  his  power,  employed  the  first  effort  of 
returnino;  intellio;ence  in  humbling  himself  under  the 
mighty  hand  of  God,  "  the  glory  of  his  kingdom,  his 
honour  and  brightness,  returned  to  him  :  he  was  estab- 
lished in  his  kingdom  ;  and  excellent  majesty  was  added 
to  him."^ 

1  2  Cliron.  xii.  7,  12  ;  Jonah  ii.   5-10 ;  2  Cliron.  xxxii.  26,  xxxiii.  12  ; 
1  Kings  xxi.  29  ;  Dan.  iv.  34-37. 


302  AFFLICTION.  [DISC.  XXII. 

This  part  of  the  divine  government  is  beautifully  de- 
scribed by  Elihu  :  To  "  hide  pride  from  man,"  "  he  is 
chastened  also  with  pain  upon  his  bed,  and  the  multitude 
of  his  bones  with  strong  pain  :  so  that  his  life  abhorreth 
bread,  and  his  soul  dainty  meat.  His  flesh  is  consumed 
away,  that  it  cannot  be  seen  ;  and  his  bones  which  were 
not  seen  stick  out.  Yea,  his  soul  draweth  near  to  the  grave, 
and  his  life  to  the  destroyer.  If  there  be  a  messenger  with 
him,  one  among  a  thousand,  to  show  unto  him  His,"  that 
is,  God's,  "  uprightness  ;  then  he  is  gracious  to  him,  and 
saith,  Deliver  from  going  down  to  the  pit ;  I  have  found 
a  ransom.  His  flesh  shall  be  fresher  than  a  child's  :  he 
shall  return  to  the  days  of  his  youth.  He  shall  pray  to 
God,  and  he  shall  be  favourable  to  him ;  and  he  will  see 
his  face  with  joy.  He  looketh  upon  man  ;  and  if  any  say, 
I  have  sinned,  and  perverted  that  which  was  right,  and  it 
profited  me  not ;  he  will  deliver  his  soul  from  going  into 
the  pit,  and  his  life  shall  see  the  light.  Lo,  all  these 
things  worketh  God  oftentimes  with  man,  to  bring  back 
his  soul  from  the  pit,  to  be  enlightened  with  the  light  of 
the  living."  "  If  men  be  bound  in  fetters,  and  be  holden 
in  cords  of  affliction ;  then  he  showeth  them  their  work, 
and  their  transgressions  wherein  they  have  exceeded.  He 
openetli  also  their  ear  to  discipline,  and  commandeth  that 
they  return  from  iniquity.  If  they  obey  and  serve  him, 
they  shall  spend  their  days  in  prosperity,  and  their  years 
in  pleasure  ;  but  if  they  obey  not,  they  sliall  perish  by  the 
sword,  and  they  shall  die  without  knowledge." 

Nor  is  the  Psalmist's  description  less  striking  and  in- 
structive :  "  Such  as  sit  in  darkness,  and  in  tlie  shadow  of 
death,  being  bound  in  affliction  and  iron ;  because  they 
rebelled  against  the  words  of  God,  and  contemned  the 
counsel  of  the  Most  High :  therefore  he  brought  down 
their  heart  with  labour :  tliey  fell  down,  and  there  was 


PART  I.]  THE  MIGHTY  HAND  OF  GOD.  303 

none  to  help.  Then  they  cried  unto  the  Lord  in  their 
trouble,  and  he  saved  them  out  of  their  distresses.  He 
brought  them  out  of  darkness  and  the  shadow  of  death, 
and  brake  their  bands  in  sunder.  Oh  that  men  would 
praise  the  Lord  for  his  goodness,  and  for  Ids  wonderful 
works  to  the  children  of  men !  For  he  hath  broken  the 
gates  of  brass,  and  cut  the  bars  of  iron  in  sunder.  Fools, 
because  of  their  transgression,  and  because  of  their  iniqui- 
ties, are  afflicted :  their  soul  abhorreth  all  manner  of  meat ; 
and  they  draw  near  unto  the  gates  of  death.  Then  they 
cry  unto  the  Lord  in  their  trouble,  and  he  saveth  them  out 
of  their  distresses.  He  sent  his  word,  and  healed  them, 
and  delivered  them  from  their  destructions.  Oh  that  men 
would  praise  the  Lord  for  his  goodness,  and  for  his  wonder- 
ful works  to  the  children  of  men  !  And  let  them  sacrifice 
the  sacrifices  of  thanksgiving,  and  declare  his  works  with 
rejoicing."  ^ 

The  Christian's  humbling  himself  under  the  mighty  hand 
of  God  always  leads  to  his  exaltation.  Frequently,  the 
affliction,  having  served  one  of  its  leading  purposes,  which 
was  to  humble  him,  and  make  him  humble  himself  before 
God,  is  removed,  and  prosperity  comes  in  the  room  of 
adversity.  At  other  times,  though  the  affliction  may  not 
be  removed,  or  though  it  may  be  one  of  those  irreparable 
losses  we  so  often  meet  with,  the  heaviness,  the  painful 
depression  which  it  occasioned,  is  removed. 

Humility  brings  in  its  train  patience,  long-suffering,  and 
hope  ;  and  even  though  not  delivered  from  suffering,  he 
who  has  humbled  himself  under  the  mighty  hand  of  God, 
is  so  lifted  up  by  that  hand  as  to  "joy  in  tribulation." 
"  His  heart  is  lifted  up  in  the  good  ways  of  the  Lord." 
The  Christian  who,  while  he  could  not  humble  himself, 
could  not  bring  his  mind  to  God's  mind,  his  will  to  God's 
1  Job  xxxiii.  17-29,  xxxvi.  8-12 ;  Ps.  cvii.  10-22. 


304  AFFLICTION.  [DISC.  XXII. 

will,  was  tossed  as  in  a  sea  of  trouble,  is  no  sooner  enabled 
to  humble  himself  under  the  mighty  hand  of  God,  to  kiss 
the  rod,  to  say,  "  Even  so.  Father,  for  so  it  seems  good  in 
thy  sight,"  than  the  storm  is  turned  into  a  calm  ;  and,  it 
may  be,  amid  unabated  external  suffering,  he  has  perfect 
peace,  submitting  himself  to  God,  staying  himself  on  God. 

It  is  the  purpose  of  God  ultimately  to  exalt  his  people 
far  above  the  reach  of  evil,  in  all  its  forms  and  in  all  its 
degrees.  The  humble,  patient  suffering  of  his  will,  equally 
with  active,  persevering  doing  of  his  will,  is  the  appointed 
way  to  that  final  exaltation  ;  and  the  degree  in  which  the 
people  of  God  are  to  be  exalted,  will  be  proportioned  to 
their  attainments  in  holiness,  among  which,  humbling  them- 
selves under  his  mighty  hand  occupies  an  important  place. 
This  is  an  exercise  that  not  only  precedes,  but  prepares  for, 
that  exaltation  to  which  it  is  his  purpose  to  raise  them. 

The  exaltation  promised  as  the  result  of  humbling  our- 
selves under  the  mighty  hand  of  God,  is  said  to  be  exaltation 
"in  due  time."  When  the  affliction  has  served  its  purpose, 
"  when  they  shall  confess  their  iniquity,"  says  Jehovah,  in 
reference  to  his  cast-off  people ;  when  their  uncircumcised 
hearts  shall  be  humbled,  "  and  they  accept  of  the  punish- 
ment of  their  iniquity,  then  will  I  remember  my  covenant." 
"  In  due  time," — in  God's  time.  "  Not  thy  fancied  time," 
as  Leighton  says,  "  but  his  own  wisely  appointed  time. 
Thou  thiukest,  I  am  sinking ;  if  he  help  not  now,  it  will  be 
too  late.  He  can  let  thee  sink  still  lower,  and  yet  bring 
thee  up  again.  He  doth  but  stay  till  the  most  fit  time. 
'  He  waiteth  to  be  gracious.'  Doth  he  wait,  and  wilt  not 
thou  ?  If  he  should  see  fit  to  keep  us  under  a  cloud  all 
our  days  on  the  earth,  what  then  I  it  is  but  a  moment  of 
wrath,  to  be  succeeded  by  an  endless  lifetime  in  his  favour : 
it  is  but  sorrow  for  a  night,  and  in  the  due  time  comes  joy  in 
the  morning;  that  eternal  morning  without  clouds,  to  which 


PART  I.]  THE  MIGHTY  HAND  OF  GOD.  305 

no  night  succeeds  for  ever."^  So  much  for  an  illustration 
of  the  apostle's  view  of  the  Christian's  state  of  affliction  as 
a  state  of  subjection  to  the  mighty  hand  of  God,  and  of 
the  corresponding  view  of  his  duty  in  this  state,  and  the 
motives  w-hich  urge  to  its  performance. 

These  remarks  have  been  addressed  almost  exclusively 
to  the  people  of  God.  But  I  cannot  conclude  this  part  of 
the  subject  without  expressing  my  sympathy  with  those 
irreligious  men  who  are  under  the  mighty  hand  of  God, 
and  of  offering  them  a  word  of  counsel.  It  is  an  awful 
thing  to  be  under  the  mighty  hand  of  God,  while  we  are 
lying  under  the  curse  of  his  holy  law.  Such  a  person  is  in 
the  grasp  of  an  almighty  hand,  which  can,  and  which,  un- 
less a  change  take  place  in  his  spiritual  state  and  character, 
will,  cast  him  into  hell.  All  he  suffers  now,  is  nothing  in 
comparison  to  what  he  shall  suffer  for  ever  and  ever.  The 
bed  of  sickness,  languishing,  and  pain,  are  ill  to  bear.  How 
will  it  be  with  you  when  you  must  make  your  bed  in  hell  ? 
God's  hand  is  heavy  now.  What  will  it  be  then  ?  He  lays 
it  on  you  7iow,  irreligious  sufferers,  that  he  may  not  require 
to  lay  it  on  you  then.  For  he  has  no  pleasure  in  your 
death.  Alas  !  how  often  does  "  God  speak  once,  yea  twice, 
yet  man  regardeth  it  not."  Even  when  he  lays  his  hand 
on  men,  few  say,  "  Where  is  God  my  Maker?"  They  do 
not  pray  to  Jwn  when  they  are  constrained  to  "  howl  upon 
their  beds."  Oh  that  they  were  wise  !^  "Hear  the  rod." 
Its  voice  to  every  thoughtless  sufferer  is, '  Humble  thyself ; 
acknowledge  thy  guilt,  thy  depravity,  thy  helplessness,  and 
cry  for  mercy.     Submit  to  the  will  of  God.'     There  is  no 

1  Ps.  XXX.  5. — "Non  omnes  intelligunt,  quod  scriptum  est  a  Davide, 
Ps.  XXX.  5.  Quid  igitur  dicit  ?  Nisi  veliementer  fallor  hoc  dicit :  '  Be- 
nevolentia  ipsius  diu  durat : '  Contrarium  illius  quod  praecetlit  'momentum 
in  ira  ejus.'  Afiine  est  quod  in  Latio  usitamus,  ajtatem  vivere,  pro,  diu 
vivere. " — Drusius. 

2  Job  xxxiii.  14,  xxxv.  10  ;  Hos.  vii.  14. 

VOL.  III.  U 


306  AFFLICTION.  [DISC.  XXII. 

hope  for  thee  but  in  this.  Submit  to  his  will,  as  to  the  way 
of  salvation  through  his  Son  ;  as  to  the  requisitions  of  his 
law,  holy  and  good ;  as  to  the  dispensations  of  his  righteous 
and  wise  providence.  Humble  yourselves  in  submission  to 
this  will  of  God,  and  all  will  yet  be  well  with  you,  well 
with  you  for  ever.  No  affliction  will  then  be  intolerable. 
Every  affliction  will  produce  sweet  and  salutary  fruit,  fruit 
to  holiness,  and  the  end  will  be  everlasting  life.  But  what 
will  be  the  consequence  if  you  do  not  humble  yourselves 
under  his  mighty  hand  ;  if  you  do  not  unreservedly  submit 
to  the  overtures  of  his  mercy,  to  the  injunctions  of  his  law, 
to  the  appointments  of  his  providence  ? 

Take  the  truth  in  the  forcible  words  of  a  divine  of  a 
former  age  :  "  His  hand,  to  which  ye  will  not  submit,  is  a 
mighty,  an  almighty,  hand.  '  Have  ye  an  arm  like  God  '? 
or  can  ye  thunder  with  a  voice  like  him  1 '  He  whose  will 
you  oppose  is  incontrollably  powerful.  His  will  must  prevail 
one  way  or  other,  either  with  your  will  or  against  it ;  either 
so  as  to  bow  and  satisfy  us,  or  so  as  to  break  and  plague 
us  :  for  '  my  counsel,'  saith  he,  '  shall  stand,  and  I  will  do 
all  my  pleasure.'  ^  As  to  his  dispensations,  we  may  fret, 
we  may  wail,  we  may  bark  at  them ;  but  we  cannot  alter 
or  avoid  them.  Sooner  may  we  by  our  moans  check  the 
tides,  or  by  our  cries  stop  the  sun  in  his  course,  than  divert 
the  current  of  aifairs,  or  change  the  state  of  things  estab- 
lished by  God's  high  decree.  What  he  layeth  on,  no  hand 
can  remove.  What  he  hath  destined,  no  power  can  reverse. 
Our  anger,  therefore,  will  be  ineffectual;  our  impatience 
will  have  no  other  fruit  than  to  affo-ravate  our  euilt  and 
augment  our  grief.  As  to  his  commands,  men  may  lift  up 
themselves  against  him  ;  they  may  fight  stoutly  ;  they  may 
in  a  sort  prove  conquerors ;  but  it  will  be  a  miserable 
victory,  the  trophies  whereof  will  be  erected  in  hell,  and 
1  Isa.  xlvi.  12. 


PART  II.]  A  STATE  OF  CAREFULNESS.  307 

stand  on  the  ruins  of  their  happiness :  for  while  they  insult 
over  abused  grace,  they  must  fall  under  incensed  justice. 
If  God  cannot  fairly  procure  his  will  of  men  in  the  way  of 
due  obedience,  he  will  surely  execute  his  will  upon  them  in 
the  way  of  righteous  vengeance  ;  if  we  do  not  surrender 
our  wills  to  the  overtures  of  his  goodness,  we  must  submit 
our  backs  to  the  strokes  of  his  ano;er.  He  must  reign  over 
US,  if  not  as  over  loyal  subjects  to  our  comfort,  yet  as  over 
stubborn  rebels  to  our  confusion  ;  for  this,  in  that  case, 
will  be  our  doom,  and  these  will  be  the  last  words  God 
will  deign  to  spend  upon  us  :  '  Those,  mine  enemies,  which 
would  not  that  I  should  reign  over  them,  bring  them  hither 
and  slay  them  before  me.'  "^ 

"  Enter  into  the  rock,  and  hide  thee  in  the  dust,  for 
fear  of  the  Lord,  and  for  the  glory  of  his  majesty.  The 
lofty  looks  of  man  shall  be  humbled,  and  the  haughtiness 
of  men  be  bowed  down ;  and  the  Lord  alone  be  exalted." 
"  Hear  ye,  and  give  ear  ;  be  not  proud  :  for  the  Lord  hath 
spoken.  Give  glory  to  the  Lord  your  God,  before  he  cause 
darkness,  and  before  your  feet  stumble  on  the  dark  moun- 
tains, and,  while  ye  look  for  light,  he  turn  it  into  the  shadow 
of  death,  and  make  it  gross  darkness.  What  wilt  thou 
say  when  he  shall  punish  thee  ? "  ^  To  all,  then,  whether 
saints  or  sinners,  when  visited  with  calamitous  dispensa- 
tions of  providence,  we  proclaim,  "  Humble  yourselves 
under  the  mighty  hand  of  God,  that  he  may  exalt  you  in 
due  time." 

II.    SECOND  VIEW  OF  AFFLICTION  AND  ITS  DUTY. 

Let  us  now   contemplate,  for  a  little,  affliction  in  the 
second  view  here  given  us  of  it — as  a  state  of  anxiety  and 
carefulness  ;  the  appropriate  duty  of  the  Christian  in  this 
1  Barrow.  2  ig^.  ii_  iq^  n  .  jgr.  xiii.  16,  21. 


308  AFFLICTION.  [DISC  XXN. 

state — casting  all  his  care  on  God ;    and  the  motive   for 
performing  this  duty — God  cares  for  him. 

§  1.  Affliction  is  a  state  of  anxiety  and  carefulness. 

Let  us  then,  for  a  little,  consider  affliction  as  a  state  of 
carefulness;  a  state  fitted  to  excite  painful  anxieties  and 
fears.  When  the  afflicted  Christian  is  called  to  cast  all  his 
cares  on  God,  it  is  obviously  supposed  that  he  has  cares, 
many  cares,  distressing  cares,  cares  which  he  feels  that  he 
cannot  himself  bear.  The  life  of  man,  the  life  of  the 
Christian  man,  even  in  its  most  prosperous  state,  is  not 
without  its  cares  and  anxieties.  Its  enjoyments  are  at  once 
imperfect  and  uncertain.  Man  has  by  no  means  all  the 
things  necessary  to  his  happiness,  nor  any  one  of  them  in 
the  measure  in  which  he  feels  to  be  desirable :  so  that  he 
naturally  wishes  for  what  he  has  not ;  and  his  wishes,  in 
proportion  to  their  ardour,  and  the  difficulties  which  seem 
to  lie  in  the  way  of  their  being  gratified,  become  painful 
anxieties.  Besides,  the  tenure  by  which  he  holds  most  of 
these  things  is  very  precarious  :  they  may  soon,  they  may 
suddenly,  be  diminished,  or  entirely  withdrawn  from  him  ; 
so  that,  if  the  mind  is  not  under  the  influence  of  that 
thoughtlessness  which  blinds  it  to  all  possible  or  probable 
hazard,  or  of  that  enlightened  religious  principle  which 
raises  it  above  the  fear  of  such  hazards  when  distinctly 
discerned,  even  a  life  of  prosperity  would  seem  necessarily 
to  be  a  life  of  carefulness.  But  while  every  situation  in 
human  life  may  afford  occasion  for  carefulness,  there  can 
be  no  doubt  tliat  the  season  of  affliction  is  peculiarly  calcu- 
lated to  excite  painful  anxieties.  The  mind  gets  into  an 
anxious  state ;  everything  assumes  a  dark,  discouraging, 
alarming  aspect.  '  How  am  I  to  sustain  present  evils,  or 
how  am  I  to  escape  from  them  ?  How  am  I  to  avert  appa- 
rently coming  evils  ?  and  if  they  cannot  be  averted,  How 


PART  II.]  A  STATE  OF  CAREFULNESS.  309 

am  I  to  endure  them  ?'  These  are  questions  which  force 
themselves  on  the  suffering  mind ;  and  most  sufferers  will 
readily  acknowledge  that  the  fruitless  attempt  to  get  satis- 
factory answers  to  them  has  often  greatly  aggravated  the 
pressure  of  external  calamity,  and  that  the  anxieties  occa- 
sioned by  affliction  have  been  felt  to  be  a  more  insupport- 
able burden  than  the  affliction  itself.^ 

The  case  of  affliction  which  the  text  naturally  brings 
before  the  mind,  that  of  a  Christian  exposed  to  persecution 
on  account  of  his  religion,  is  one  which  is  calculated  to  be 
peculiarly  fertile  in  harassing  cares  and  perplexing  anxieties. 
'  Spoiled  as  I  am  already,  or  am  likely  soon  to  be,  of  my 
goods,  how  am  I  to  meet  my  engagements,  and  provide 
things  honest  in  the  sight  of  all  men  ?  What  is  to  become 
of  my  family,  to  provide  for  whom  is  one  of  the  most 
clearly  enjoined,  strongly  enforced,  of  Christian  duties  ? 
How  am  I  to  be  enabled  to  sustain  the  sufferings  to  which 
I  am  likely  to  be  exposed?  How  am  I  to  be  enabled  dis- 
tinctly to  see  my  duty  f  How  am  I  to  be  enabled  deter- 
minedly to  do  my  duty  ?  I  am  afraid  I  shall  not  be  able  to 
stand  in  the  evil  day.  I  am  afraid  my  faith  will  fail,  and 
that  I  shall  make  shipwreck  of  a  good  conscience ;  and 
then,  what  will  be  the  fearful  result  of  this  to  the  cause  of 
truth  ?  How  will  its  enemies  exult !  How  will  its  friends 
be  ashamed  !  What  will  be  the  more  fearful  result  of  this 
to  my  own  weak,  guilty  soul  ?  The  anguish  of  an  outraged 
conscience,  the  frown  of  an  insulted  Saviour ;  and  all  this 
for  ever!'  And  anxieties  of  this  kind  could  not  be  con- 
fined to  the  individual's  own  case  ;  they  naturally  extended 
to  the  whole  brotherhood,  and  to  the  great  cause.    This  is 

1  This  state  of  mind  is  very  beautifully  described  by  the  poet : 
"Magno  curarum  fluctuat  cestu, 
Atque  animum  nunc  hue  celerem  nunc  di\ndit  illuc, 
In  partesque  rapit  varias,  perque  omnia  versat. " — ViRGlL. 


310  AFFLICTION.  [DISC.  XXII. 

the  case,  I  apprehend,  more  immediately  in  the  apostle's 
view ;  and  it  is  easy  to  see  that  persons  placed  in  these 
circumstances  were  likely  to  have  anxieties,  many  anxieties, 
oppressive  anxieties.  But  it  is  obvious  that  affliction  in  all 
its  forms  is  a  natural  source  of  painful  carefulness  to  all, 
even  to  the  Christian.  The  questions.  How  shall  I  be 
strengthened  to  endure  those  afflictions  I  how  shall  I  be 
enabled  to  conduct  myself  aright  towards  God  and  man 
under  them  ?  am  I  ever  to  be  delivered  from  them  ?  and 
if  so,  how  I  and  if  not,  what  are  likely  to  be  their  conse- 
quences to  me  and  to  others  ? — these  are  inquiries  which 
are  involuntarily  pressed  on  the  consideration  of  the  mind, 
and  it  becomes  careful  and  troubled,  perplexed  and  fearful, 
oppressed  and  downcast. 

§  2.  The  duty  of  the  Christian  under  ajffliction  is  to  "  cast  all 
his  care  on  God." 

The  duty  of  the  Christian  under  the  pressure  of  affliction, 
viewed  in  this  aspect,  is  to  "cast  all  his  care  on  God." 
The  language  is  figurative,  strongly  figurative.  These 
harassing  cares  and  anxieties  are  represented  as  a  burden, 
which  is  felt  to  be  oppressively  heavy ;  and  the  sinking 
sufferer  is  represented  as  so  transferring  them  to  God  as 
to  obtain  relief  from  their  painful  pressure.  The  figure 
is  still  more  fully  brought  out  in  the  passage  in  the  Old 
Testament  Scriptures  here  referred  to,  "  Cast  thy  burden 
upon  the  Lord,  and  he  shall  sustain  thee."^  Casting  our 
cares  on  God,  is  descriptive  of  such  actings  of  the  mind 
towards  God  as  shall  have  an  effect  in  giving  it  a  relief, 
analogous  to  that  ease  of  body  which  the  transference  of  a 
load  to  another  person  procures  to  him  who  was  previously 
bent  down  by  it.  The  figurative  expression  "  cast,"  not 
lay,  seems  to  intimate  that  the  duty  enjoined  is  one  that 
1  Ps.  iv.  22. 


PART  II.]  A  STATE  OF  CAREFULNESS.  311 

requires  an  effort;  and  experience  tells  us  it  is  no  easy 
matter  to  throw  off  the  burden  of  carefulness.  To  describe 
the  state  of  mind  indicated  by  this  figurative  expression, 
and  show  how  the  Christian  is  to  find  his  way  into  it,  are 
the  objects  I  have  in  view  in  the  following  observations. 

To  think  rightly  on  this  subject,  it  is  of  primary  import- 
ance that  we  have  distinct  ideas  respecting  the  true  nature 
of  those  cares,  all  of  which  the  afflicted  Christian  is  called 
on  to  cast  on  God.     There  are  cares  and  anxieties  which 
originate  in  cherishing  false  views  as  to  what  is  necessary 
and  conducive  to  happiness  in  ourselves  and  others;  and  in 
unlawful,  inordinate  desires,  corresponding  with  these  false 
views.     There  are  very  many  such  cares  and  anxieties  in 
the  world.     Indeed,  they  are  all  but  universal.     "  Surely 
every  man  walketh  in  a  vain  show;  surely  they  are  disquieted 
in  vain."^     Men  are  anxious  to  obtain  what,  if  they  thought 
and  felt  rightly,  they  would  never  have  desired ;  and  that 
is  the  object  of  fear  which,  were  they  not  blinded  by  passion 
or  false  views  of  interest,  would  occasion  no  alarm,  but 
rather  be  the  object  of  hope.     This  is  the  character  of  the 
greater  part  of  the  worldling's  anxieties,  and  it  is  the  cha- 
racter also  of  but  too  many  of  the  Christian's.     These  cares 
are  not  to  be  cast  on  God :  they  are  to  be  cast  away  from 
us.     We  are  not  to  go  to  him  in  the  hope  that  he  will 
gratify  such  desires,  disappoint   such    fears,  realize    such 
hopes.     To  ask  Him  to  do  this,  were  to  insult  him.     If  we 
take  them  to  him  at  all — and  we  cannot  do  better — it  ought 
to  be  as  his  enemies  and  ours,  to  slay  them  before  his  face. 
There  are  other  cares  which  we  are  not  warranted  to  cast 
on  God,  for  another  reason.     God  has  laid  them  on  us,  and 
he  expects  that  we  shall  bear  them.     God  would  have  his 
people  without  carefulness,  in  the  sense  of  painful,  useless 
anxiety.     But  he  would  not  have  them  without  thoughtful- 
1  Ps.  xxxix.  6. 


312  AFFLICTION.  [DISC.  XXII. 

ness,  ill  the  sense  of  considerate  reflection.  We  are  bound 
to  exercise  those  faculties  God  has  given  us  for  discovering 
what  is  truth  and  what  is  falsehood,  what  is  right  and  what 
is  wrong,  what  is  good  and  what  is  evil.  We  are  not  to 
resign  ourselves  to  mental  inactivity,  and  to  expect  that,  in 
some  miraculous  way  without  our  own  agency,  God  is  to 
lead  us  unto  truth,  and  preserve  us  from  error;  show  us 
what  is  duty,  and  what  is  sin ;  give  us  what  is  fitted  to 
make  us  happy,  and  defend  us  from  all  that  is  fitted  to 
injure  us.  It  is  in  the  eager,  I  had  almost  said  anxious, 
employment  of  our  faculties  as  intelligent  beings,  on  the 
revelation  which  God  has  made  of  his  will,  in  his  word  and 
in  his  providence,  that  we  are  to  expect  to  find  out  what  is 
the  course  of  conduct  we  should  follow  in  any  particular 
case ;  and  it  is  in  the  persevering  diligent  employment  of 
our  faculties  as  active  beings,  carrying  into  effect  the  con- 
clusion to  which  we  have  arrived,  that  we  are  to  expect  to 
obtain  the  desired  results.  We  are  warranted  to  look  up 
to  him  for  the  aids  of  his  good  Spirit  both  in  our  inquiries 
and  in  our  exertions.  But  we  are  not  to  expect  him  to  do 
that  directly  which  his  infinitely  wise  plan  and  our  real 
interests  equally  require  should  be  done  by  us.  The 
apostle  does  not  mean  to  encourage  inconsideration,  indo- 
lence, or  presumption,  when  he  enjoins  Christians  to  cast 
all  their  cares  on  God.  It  has  been  well  said,  "  We  must 
not  cast  our  work  on  God,  and  presume  that  he  will  save  us 
in  the  way  of  sloth  and  carnal  indulgence  ;  on  the  contrary, 
we  are  commanded  to  '  work  out  our  own  salvation  with 
fear  and  trembling.'  "  It  is  only  in  "  well-doing"  that  we 
can  "commit  the  keeping  of  our  souls  to  God."^ 

The  cares  and  anxieties  spoken  of  here  have  a  reference 
to  what  properly  belongs  to   God,  what  lies  beyond  the 
range  of  human  agency.     All  a  Christian's  cares  of  this 
iPhil.  ii.  12;  IPet.  iv.  19. 


PART  II.]  A  STATE  OF  CAREFULNESS.  313 

kind,  whether  in  a  state  of  affliction  or  otherwise,  whether 
respecting  secular  or  spiritual  things,  the  body  or  the  soul, 
time  or  eternity,  must  refer,  I  apprehend,  either  to  duties 
or  to  events. 

As  to  duties,  the  Christian  is  apt  to  be  anxious  and  care- 
ful about  the  discovery  of  what  is  duty,  and  the  discharge 
of  what  is  known  to  be  duty.  In  regard  to  the  first,  he  is 
carefully  to  use  the  means  God  has  appointed  for  discover- 
ing his  duty.  He  is  to  read  his  Bible ;  he  is  to  attend  to 
the  aspect  of  providence ;  he  is  to  compare  the  one  with  the 
other;  he  is  to  ask  the  guidance  of  the  Spirit;  he  is  to  guard 
against  false  biases ;  he  is  to  see  that  his  eye  be  single,  that 
his  whole  body  may  be  full  of  light :  but  he  is  not  to  be 
anxious  as  if,  doing  all  this,  he  shall  yet  be  left  in  darkness, 
and  allowed  to  fall  into  error  or  sin.  He  is  to  cast  all  such 
cares  on  the  Lord.  They  refer  to  his  work,  and  he  has 
pledged  himself  to  do  it ;  and  we  may  be  assured  he  will 
not  fail  to  do  as  he  has  said. 

But  the  Christian  may  be  anxious  also  about  the  per- 
formance of  known  duty.  In  this  case  he  is  carefully  to 
guard  against  temptations  to  neglect  duty ;  but  he  is  not  to 
indulge  in  any  anxiety  as  to  whether  he  will  be  enabled, 
trusting  in  God,  to  perform  any  duty,  however  difficult,  to 
which  God  may  be  pleased  to  call  him.  That  is  God's 
concern ;  why  does  he  burden  himself  with  it  ?  He  will 
look  after  the  accomplishment  of  his  own  promise,  "  My 
grace  is  sufficient  for  thee,  and  my  strength  shall  be  per- 
fected in  weakness ; "  and  let  the  Christian,  in  the  full 
assurance  of  this,  with  an  earnest,  determined,  but  un- 
anxious  mind,  set  about  the  performance  of  the  difficult, 
perhaps  at  the  time  apparently  impossible,  work. 

As  to  events,  they,  properly  speaking,  belong  entirely  to 
God.  Man  proposes ;  God  disposes.  To  man  some  events 
seem  desirable,  others  undesirable ;  and,  so  far  as  we  are 


314  AFFLICTION.  [DISC.  XXII. 

concerned  in  the  matter,  we  are  to  use  such  lawful  means 
as  seem  to  us  best  fitted  to  further  events  which,  with  the 
widest  and  most  accurate  view  we  can  take  of  them,  seem  to 
be  desirable ;  and  when  we  have  done  this,  anxiety  should 
cease.  Our  care  should  be  cast  upon  God,  who  "  work- 
eth  all  things  according  to  the  counsel  of  his  own  will," 
whose  "  work  is  perfect,"  "  most  honourable  and  glorious."^ 
This  is  the  duty  of  the  Christian  respecting  all  the  events 
of  time,  and  all  the  events  of  eternity,  both  in  reference  to 
himself  individually,  and  to  all  with  whom  he  is  connected ; 
with  regard  to  the  Church,  and  with  regard  to  the  world. 
Respecting  duty,  we  ought  to  cast  on  him  all  our  care  and 
anxiety  as  to  skill  to  discover  it,  and  strength  to  perform  it ; 
respecting  events,  we  ought  to  trust  him  with  them  entirely. 
In  order  to  thus  casting  our  cares  on  God,  there  are 
plainly  required  three  things :  1.  A  persuasion  that  God 
has  complete  control  in  reference  to  those  things  which 
excite  our  anxiety ;  2.  A  persuasion  that  he  will  use  this 
control  in  the  best  manner,  abstractly  considered  ;  and  3. 
A  persuasion  that  he  will  use  this  control  in  the  best  possible 
manner,  so  far  as  we  are  concerned. 

(1.)  A  persua&ion  that  God  has  power  to  control  luhat  excites 
our  anxiety. 

I  could  not  get  rid  of  painful  anxiety  by  casting  it  on 
God,  if  I  did  not  believe  he  could  sustain  it.  What  lies  at 
the  very  foundation  here,  is  the  conviction  that  God  is 
Sovereign  of  the  universe,  uncontrolled  and  uncontrollable, 
"whose  kingdom  rnleth  over  all,"  "who  can  do  everything," 
"  whose  arm  none  can  stay,  to  whom  none  dare  say,  What 
doestthou?"  whose  ends  his  enemies  further  by  oj)posing 
them,  who  "  makes  their  wrath  to  praise  him,  and  who 
restrains  the  remainder  thereof."  "" 

1  Epk  i.  11  ;  Ps.  cxi.  3.         -  Ps.  ciii.  19,  Ixxvi.  10 ;  Dan.  iv.  35. 


PART  II.]  A  STATE  OF  CAREFULNESS.  315 

(2.)  A  persuasion  that  God  loill  emiploy  his  controlling  poiver 
in  the  best  possible  v:ay. 

But  though  I  had  entire  conviction  of  the  divine  power, 
I  could  not  cast  my  care,  all  my  care,  on  him,  unless 
I  believed  that  his  power  was  guided  by  wisdom  and  right- 
eousness, and  influenced  by  benignity.  A  belief  in  the  exist- 
ence of  a  being  possessed  of  infinite  power,  if  I  were  not 
sure  that  this  being  is  possessed  of  infinite  wisdom  and  right- 
eousness, would  increase,  not  diminish,  my  anxieties.  But 
the  clear  apprehension  that  He  who  has  all  things  under  his 
control  is  perfect  in  knowledge,  infinite  in  wasdom,  glorious 
in  holiness,  plentiful  in  justice,  and  full  of  kindness,  must 
persuade  me  that  his  management  of  everything  must  be 
the  best  possible. 

(3.)  A  persuasion  that  he  will  employ  his  controlling  poicer 
in  the  best  possible  ivay  for  us. 

It  might  be  thought  that  this  conviction'  of  absolute  intel- 
lectual and  moral  perfection,  in  combination  with  almighty 
power,  should  be  quite  enough  to  enable  me,  quite  enough 
morally  to  compel  me,  to  cast  all  my  care  on  God ;  that  in 
the  presence  of  such  convictions,  anxieties  of  every  kind 
would  cease.  But  no !  I  am  a  sinner.  I  have  offended 
this  infinitely  powerful  and  wise  and  excellent  Being,  and 
the  very  excellence  of  his  nature  may  render  certain  those 
events,  anxiety  about  which  can  only  be  quieted  by  an 
assurance  that  they  never  shall  take  place.  I  must  be 
persuaded  that  this  control  which  he  possesses  will  be  exer- 
cised not  only  in  the  best  possible  way  in  the  abstract,  but 
in  the  best  way  for  me.  In  other  words,  I  must  know  and 
believe  him  to  be  my  friend.  I  must  know  that  he  is 
"  pacified  towards  me  for  all  the  iniquity  which  I  have 
done."     I  must  believe  his  own  testimony,  that  he  has  no 


316  AFFLICTION.  [DISC.  XXII. 

pleasure  in  my  death ;  that  he  is  "  in  Christ  reconciHng 
the  world  to  himself ;"  that  "  for  the  great  love  wherewith 
he.  loves  us,  he  blesses  us  with  all  heavenly  and  spiritual 
blessings."  I  must,  on  the  faith  of  his  testimony,  lay  hold 
of  his  promise,  and  believe  that  to  me,  trusting  in  him,  he 
will  do  all  that  he  has  said,  make  all  things  work  for  my 
good,  and  bestow  on  me  "  the  salvation  that  is  in  Christ 
with  eternal  glory." 

Wherever  there  is,  and  in  the  degree  in  which  there  is, 
the  possession  of  this  threefold  persuasion,  we  learn  to  cast 
our  cares  on  God ;  and  we  find  that,  by  doing  so,  we  are 
relieved  of  them.  When  we  are  thus  "  anxious  about 
nothing,  but  in  everything  by  prayer  and  supplication  make 
our  requests  known  to  God,  the  peace  of  God,  which 
passeth  all  understanding,  keeps  our  hearts  and  minds  by 
Christ  Jesus."  It  is  then,  in  believing  prayer,  that  the 
afflicted,  anxious  Christian  is  to  cast  his  cares  on  God. 

"  This  is  the  way,"  as  good  Leighton  says,  "  to  walk 
contentedly  and  cheerfully  homewards,  leaning  and  resting 
all  the  way  on  him  who  is  both  our  guide  and  our  guard, 
our  wisdom  and  our  strength,  who  hath  us  and  all  our  good 
in  his  gracious  hand.  The  more  tender  and  weak  we  are, 
the  more  tender  will  he  be  of  us,  the  more  strong  will  he  be 
in  us.  He  feeds  his  flock  as  a  shepherd,  and  the  weakest  he 
is  most  careful  of.  They  go  in  his  arms  and  bosom,  and  it 
is  easy  for  the  feeblest  so  to  go." 

In  reference  to  events,  the  more  completely  we  rid  our- 
selves of  all  anxiety,  we  act  the  more  reasonably  and  wisely. 
It  is  entirely  his  province  to  manage  them.  If  we  meddle 
with  it — and  we  are  constantly  meddling  with  it — we  dis- 
please him,  and  disquiet  ourselves.  This  sin  carries  its 
punishment  in  its  bosom.  "  If  thou  wilt,"  says  the  pious 
prelate,  "  be  struggling  with  that  which  belongs  not  to  thee, 
and  poising  at  that  burden  which  is  not  thine,  what  wonder, 


PART  II.J  A  STATE  OF  CAREFULNESS.  317 

yea,  I  may  say,  what  pity,  if  thou  fall  under  it?  Is  it  not 
just,  if  thou  wilt  do  for  thyself,  and  bear  for  thyself  what 
thy  Lord  calls  for  to  bear  for  thee,  is  it  not  just  that  thou 
feel  the  weight  of  it  to  thy  cost  ?" 

There  is  just  one  other  thought  to  which  I  would  solicit 
your  attention  before  closing  this  part  of  the  subject.  The 
Christian  must  beware  of  laying  his  cares  on  any  but  God. 
He  must  cast  all  his  cares  on  God.  He  may  seek  the  sym- 
pathy and  the  advice  of  his  fellow-Christians ;  but  he  must 
never  cast  his  cares  or  place  his  confidence  on  them.  They 
cannot  bear  the  burden.  They  are  obliged  to  cast  their  own 
cares  on  God.  "  Cursed  is  the  man  that  trustetli  in  man, 
and  maketh  flesh  his  arm."  He  well  understood  the  blessed 
art  of  casting  all  his  care  on  God,  who  said,  "My  soul,  wait 
thou  only  on  God ;  for  my  expectation  is  from  him.  He 
only  is  my  rock  and  my  salvation ;  he  is  my  defence ;  I 
shall  not  be  moved.  In  God  is  my  salvation  and  my 
glory:  the  rock  of  my  strength,  and  my  refuge,  is  in  God. 
Ye  people,  place  your  confidence  in  him  continually ; 
pour  out  your  heart  before  him  :  God  is  a  refuge  for  us. 
Surely  men  of  low  degree  are  vanity,  and  men  of  high 
degree  are  a  lie ;  to  be  laid  in  the  balance"  with  God,  as 
the  object  of  confidence,  "  they  are  altogether  lighter  than 
vanity."  ^ 

Finally,  here,  in  the  right  state  of  mind  under  affliction, 

the  two  things  recommended  by  the  apostle  must  be  con- 

1  Ps.  Ixii.  5-9. — Hengstenberg  vei-y  Justly  remarks  tliat  the  words 
"Pour  ye  out  yoiir  heart  before  him — God  is  a  refuge  for  us" — are,  as 
to  sense,  quite  parallel  to  that  before  us. — Arndt  gives  the  meaning  of 
"pour  out" — 'completely  empty  yoiir  heart  of  all  that  is  distressing  it' 
— ^pour  it  out  before  the  Lord !  What  a  beautiful  example  have  we  of 
"pouring  out  the  heart  before  God,"  "casting  all  care  on  him,"  in  Ps. 
cxlii.  1-5 !  Hannah,  too — 1  Sam.  i.  10-17 — shows  us  what  the  mental 
exercise  is,  expressed  by  these  significant  figures  ;  and  her  experience 
shows  how  "he  on  whom  Ave  cast  our  cares"  "cares/or  us,"  and  relieves 
us  of  our  cares. 


318  AFFLICTION.  [DISC.  XXII. 

joined :  "  Humbling  ourselves  under  the  mighty  hand  of 
God,"  and  "  casting  all  our  cares  upon  him."  Our  self- 
abasement  must  not  lead  to  despondency,  but  to  deeper 
dependence,  greater  confidence ;  and  our  reliance  on  God, 
and  consequent  ease  of  mind,  must  not  be  presumptuous. 
A  sense  of  sin  must  not  prevent  the  use  of  privilege,  and  a 
continuous  enjoyment  of  privilege  must  not  diminish  self- 
abasement. 

§  3.   The  motive  to  casting  our  care  on  God  is,  that  he 
cares  for  us. 

It  is  time  now  that  I  proceed  to  turn  your  attention  to 
the  motive  by  which  the  apostle  urges  the  Christian  to  cast 
all  his  care  on  God  :  "  Casting  all  your  care  on  God  ;  for 
he  careth  for  you."  And  here  I  shall  very  briefly  state  the 
evidence  of  this  truth,  that  God  cares  for  his  people  ;  and 
then  show  how  the  belief  of  this  truth  should  lead  them  to 
cast  their  care  on  him. 

It  is  quite  obvious  that  the  apostle  is  not  here  speaking  of 
the  general  providential  care  which  God  has  of  men  as  his 
creatures,  but  of  the  peculiar  care  which  he  has  of  those 
who  are  in  a  peculiar  sense  his  children,  his  people,  his  in- 
heritance, his  purchased  possession.  He  cares  for  them  in 
another  way  than  he  does  for  the  world.  On  those  who 
are  elect  according  to  the  foreknowledge  of  God,  by  a 
spiritual  separation,  and  who  are  made  obedient  to  the  truth 
and  sprinkled  with  the  blood  of  Jesus,  are  bestowed  peculiar 
"  heavenly  and  spiritual  blessings ;"  to  them  who  have 
obtained  like  precious  faith  with  the  apostles,  are  given 
"  exceeding  great  and  precious  promises."  It  is  the  care  of 
God  for  this  peculiar  people,  that  I  mean  to  establish  as  a 
ground  why  this  peculiar  people  should  cast  all  their  care 
on  him. 

It  deserves  notice  that  the  word  "  careth  "  in  this  last 


PART  II.]  A  STATE  OF  CAREFULNESS.  319 

clause  is  a  word  of  a  very  different  meaning  from  that 
used  in  the  first  clause,  though  rendered  by  the  same 
English  word.^  The  word  in  the  first  clause  denotes  pain- 
ful anxiety ;  in  the  second,  kind  interest.  It  is  said,  "  The 
hirelino;  fleeth  when  the  wolf  cometh ;  for  he  careth  not 
for  the  sheep."  It  is  said  Judas  "cared  not  for  the  poor."^' 
"  He  cares  for  you "  is  equivalent  to  '  He  takes  a  kind 
interest  in  you.' 

Now  that  God  does,  must,  take  a  peculiar  and  most 
benignant  intei'est  in  his  people,  will  be  very  plain,  if  we 
attend  for  a  moment  to  the  peculiar  relation  in  which  he 
stands  to  them,  the  peculiar  works  he  has  done  for  them, 
the  peculiar  privileges  he  has  bestowed  on  them,  and  the 
peculiar  " exceeding  great  and  precious  promises"  he  has 
made  to  them. 

■  What  is  the  relation  in  which  God  stands  to  them  ?  He 
is  their  God  and  Father ;  they  are  his  people  and  children, 
in  a  sense  quite  peculiar.  They  were  "  predestinated  to  the 
adoption  of  children  ;"  and  when  he  called  them  out  of  the 
world,  by  the  power  of  his  Spirit  attending  the  invitation  of 
his  word,  he  said,  "  I  will  be  a  father  to  you,  and  ye  shall 
be  my  sons  and  daughters."  "  Behold,"  may  "  this  chosen 
generation,  this  holy  nation,  this  peculiar  people,"  say,  "  Be- 
hold what  manner  of  love  the  Father  hath  bestowed  on  us, 
that  we  should  be  called  the  sons  of  God!"^  The  title  is 
not  an  empty  name.  Tiiere  is  great  force  in  the  apostle's 
argument,  "If  children,  then  heirs."'*  If  you  stand  in  the 
relation  of  children  to  God,  you  may  be  sure  of  the  treat- 
ment of  children.  Is  it  possible  that  our  Father  in  heaven 
should  not  care  for  his  children  1  "  If  ye,  being  evil,"  says 
our  Lord,  "  know  how  to  give  good  gifts  to  your  children  ; 
how  much  more  shall  your  Father  in  heaven  give  good 

1  Uipifivccy — MiXu.  ^  Jolin  X.  13,  xii.  6. 

3  Eph.  i.  5  ;  2  Cor.  vi.  17,  18  ;  I  John  iii.  I.         *  Rom.  viii.  17. 


320  AFFLICTION.  [DISC.  XXII. 

gifts  to  them  that  ask  him  ? "  "  Like  as  a  father  pitietli 
his  children,  so  the  Lord  pities  them  that  fear  him.  He 
knoweth  our  frame ;  he  remembereth  that  we  are  dust."  ^ 

What  has  God  done  for,  what  has  he  given  to,  his 
peculiar  people  ?  He  "  chose  them  before  the  foundation 
of  the  world."  He  "  commended  his  love  to  them,  in  that, 
while  they  were  yet  sinners,  Christ  died  for  them."  He 
"  spared  not  his  Son,  but  delivered  him  up "  "  for  their 
offences,  and  raised  him  again  for  their  justification,"  and 
set  him  at  his  own  right  hand,  that,  ever  living  to  make 
intercession  for  them,  he  might  be  "  able  to  save  them  to  the 
uttermost."  For  them  he  poured  out  the  Holy  Ghost  in  his 
miraculous  and  inspiring  influence,  and  diffused  his  gospel 
and  established  his  ordinances  throughout  the  earth.  This 
is  a  specimen  of  what  he  has  done  for  them.  And  what  has 
he  given  them?  He  has  "blessed  them  with  all  heavenly  and 
spiritual  blessings  ;"  he  has  bestowed  on  them  "  redemption 
in  Christ  through  his  blood,  according  to  the  riches  of  his 
grace ;"  he  has  made  them  "  accepted  in  the  Beloved ;"  he 
has  conferred  on  them  "  an  inheritance  incorruptible  and 
uudefiled,  and  that  fadeth  not,  reserved  in  heaven  for  them," 
while  he  keeps  them  by  his  power,  through  faith,  unto 
salvation ;  he  has  given  them  the  Holy  Scriptures  as  the 
charter,  and  the  Holy  Spirit,  in  his  sanctifying  and  com- 
forting influences,  as  the  "  seal"  and  the  "  earnest,"  of  their 
inheritance  ;  he  has  sent  forth  his  angels,  who  excel  in 
strength,  as  "  ministering  spirits,  to  minister  to  them  as 
heirs  of  this  great  salvation  ;"  he  has  delivered  them  from 
the  "  present  evil  world,"  and  from  the  power  of  the  wicked 
one,  and  given  them  "  everlasting  consolation  and  good 
hope  through  grace."  Surely  he  who  has  done  all  this  for 
them,  and  given  all  this  to  them,  does,  must,  care  for  them. 
For  these  "  gifts  and  callings  are  without  repentance."     He 

1  Matt.  vii.  11  ;  Ps.  ciii.  13,  14. 


PART  II.]  A  STATE  OF  CAREFULNESS.  321 

," rests  in  his  love,"  and  is  "the  same  yesterday,  to-day,  and 
for  ever."^ 

Still  further,  what  has  he  promised  them,  or  rather,  what 
has  he  not  promised  them,  which  could  show  his  care  for 
them  ?  He  has  promised  that  he  will  "  withhold  no  good 
thing  from  them ;"  that  "it  shall  be  well  with  them;"  that 
"  their  desire  shall  be  granted,"  and  that  "  their  hope  shall 
be  gladness."  He  has  declared  that  theirs  is  the  world, 
and  that  they  "shall  inherit  all  things;"  and  promised  to 
"  supply  all  their  need  according  to  his  riches  in  glory  by 
Christ  Jesus."  He  has  a  promise  which  meets  every 
anxiety  which  can  arise  in  their  hearts.  Are  they  anxious 
as  to  strength  to  j^erform  duty  t  He  says,  "  My  grace  is 
sufficient  for  you."  "  God  will  work  in  you  to  will  and  to 
do  of  his  good  pleasure."  "  I  will  strengthen  them  in  the 
Lord,  and  they  shall  walk  up  and  down  in  my  name."  Are 
they  anxious  as  to  guidance  in  difficulty  ?  "I  will  lead  the 
blind  in  a  way  that  they  know  not ;  I  will  make  darkness 
light  before  them."  "I  will  instruct  thee,  and  teach  thee 
in  the  way  that  thou  shouldest  go."  Are  they  afraid  of 
falling  before  their  spiritual  enemies,  and  ultimately  coming 
short  of  eternal  life  ?  He  who  is  the  Father's  substantial 
image  says,  "  I  give  to  my  sheep  eternal  life,  and  they  shall 
never  perish  ;  neither  shall  any  pluck  them  out  of  my  hand. 
My  Father,  which  gave  them  me,  is  greater  than  all ;  and 
none  can  pluck  them  out  of  my  Father's  hand."  "God, 
who  is  faithful,  will  not  suffer  you  to  be  tempted  above 
what  ye  are  able  to  bear ;  and  will  with  the  temptation  also 
make  a  way  of  escape,  that  ye  may  be  able  to  bear  it." 
"Satan  shall  be  bruised  under  your  feet  shortly."  And  as 
to  events:  Are  they  anxious  about  affliction?     "He  shall 

1  Epli.  i.  4 ;  Rom.  v.  8,  viii.  32,  iv.  25  ;  Heb.  ^^i.  25  ;  Eph.  i.  3,  G,  7  ; 
1  Pet.  i.  4,  5  ;  Eph.  i.  13  ;  Ps.  xci.  11  ;  Heb.  i.  14 ;  Gal.  i.  4  ;  2  Thess. 
ii.  16  ;  Ptom.  xi.  29. 

VOL.  III.  •  X 


322  AFFLICTION.  [DISC.  XXII. 

deliver  thee  in  six  troubles,  in  seven  no  evil  shall  touch 
thee."  "  When  thou  passest  through  the  waters,  I  will  be 
with  thee ;  and  through  the  rivers,  they  shall  not  overflow 
thee.  When  thou  walkest  through  the  fire,  thou  shalt  not 
be  burnt ;  neither  shall  the  flame  kindle  on  thee."  "  All 
things  shall  work  together  for  good  to  them  that  love  God." 
In  every  situation  in  life  fitted  to  excite  anxiety,  there  are 
appropriate  promises  which  I  cannot  stop  to  enumerate. 
To  his  people,  when  in  poverty,  in  famine,  bereaved  of 
relations,  spoiled  of  their  possessions,  misrepresented  and 
calumniated,  promises  singularly  suited  to  their  circum- 
stances are  made ;  all  j^roving  that  he  cares  for  them,  that 
"  in  all  their  afilictions  he  is  afflicted,"  and  that  "  they  who 
touch  them,  touch  the  apple  of  his  eye."  ^ 

Are  they  anxious  about  death,  and  about  what  is  to 
follow  death  ?  He  shows  that  he  cares  for  them  by  promis- 
ing, that  when  they  "  walk  through  the  valley  of  the 
shadow  of  death,  he  will  be  with  them ;  his  rod  and  his 
staff,  they  shall  sustain  them."  "  He  will  swallow  up 
death  in  victory."  "  I  will  ransom  them  from  the  power 
of  the  grave  ;  I  will  redeem  them  from  death.  O  death  ! 
I  will  be  thy  pkgues  :  O  grave  !  I  will  be  thy  destruction." 
"  This  corruptible  shall  put  on  incorruption,  and  this  mortal 
must  put  on  immortality;  and  death  shall  be  swallowed  up 
in  victory."  The  Saviour  shall  come  from  heaven,  and 
"  change  these  vile  bodies,  and  fashion  them  like  unto  his 
own  glorious  body;"  and  they  "shall  be  caught  up  iu 
clouds  to  meet  the  Lord  in  the  air,  and  they  shall  be  for 
ever  with  the  Lord."     "  He  who  testifieth  these  things  is  a 

1  Ps.  Ixxxiv.  11  ;  Eccles.  viii.  8;  Isa.  iii.  10;  Ps.  cxlv.  19;  Prov.  x, 
24,  28  ;  1  Cor.  iii.  22  ;  Rom.  iv.  13 ;  Kev.  xxi.  7  ;  Pliil.  iv.  19 ;  2  Cor. 
xii.  9  ;  Phil.  ii.  13  ;  Zech.  x.  12  ;  Isa.  xlii.  16 ;  Ps.  xxxiL  8  ;  Jolin  x. 
28,  29;  1  Cor.  x.  13 ;  Rohl  xvl  20;  Job  v,  19;  Isa.  xliL  2,  IxiiL  9; 
Rom.  viii.  28 ;  Zecli.  ii.  8. 


PART  II.]  A  STATE  OF  CAREFULNESS.  323 

true  and  faithful  witness."  He  cannot  be  deceived ;  he 
cannot  deceive.  "He  is  not  a  man,  that  he  should  lie." 
He  means  all  he  says ;  he  can  and  will  do  all  he  promises.^ 

Does  he  not,  then,  care  for  his  people?  Do  not  the 
relations  he  has  assumed  towards  them,  the  works  he  has 
performed  for  them,  the  privileges  he  has  bestowed  on 
them,  and  the  promises  so  exceeding  great  and  precious 
that  he  has  made  about  them  and  to  them,  abundantly 
prove  the  assertion  in  the  text,  "He  cares  for  them  ?" 

It  will  not  require  many  words  to  show,  tliat  this  truth, 
so  abundantly  demonstrated,  is  a  most  powerful  and  ap- 
propriate motive  to  the  Christian's  casting  his  care,  all  his 
care,  upon  God.  Why  should  he  allow  the  burden  that 
so  oppresses  and  depresses  him,  that  so  interferes  both  with 
his  duty  and  with  his  comfort,  to  remain  on  him?  He 
knows  very  well  that  these  anxieties  can  be  of  no  use  to 
him ;  they  refer  to  matters  that  he  cannot  control.  His 
anxieties,  however  intense,  do  not  bring  him  one  whit 
nearer  the  object  of  his  hope,  or  remove  him  one  whit 
further  from  the  object  of  his  fear.  But,  to  obtain  relief 
from  anxiety,  I  must  not  only  be  convinced  that  my  anxiety 
is  useless.  A  conviction  of  this,  if  I  do  not  see  some  way 
of  getting  rid  of  the  evils  which  occasion  it,  will  but  fix  the 
burden  more  firmly  on  me.  But  the  Christian  who  knows 
that  God  cares  for  him,  knows  that  his  anxieties  are  not 
only  useless ;  they  are  needless.  God,  who  has  the  entire 
management  of  those  matters  which  excite  his  anxieties, 
God  cares  for  him.  And  who  is  this  who  cares  for  the 
Christian  ?  He  is  the  all-wise,  "  the  only  wise  God,"  who 
never  can  be  deceived  as  to  what  is  the  Christian's  true 
interest,  and  who  knows  how  to  make  "  all  things  work 
together  for  good."     He  never  can  fall  into  any  mistake  as 

1  Ps.  xxiii.  4  ;  Isa.  xxv.  8  ;  Hos.  xiii.  14  ;  I  Cor.  xv.  53-57  ;  Pliil.  iii. 
20,  21  ;  1  Thess.  iv.  17. 


324  AFFLICTION.  [DISC.  XXII. 

to  what  is  good  for  his  people,  nor  as  to  the  means  best 
fitted  for  securing  this  good  to  them.  Then  he  is  God 
Ahnighty,  the  all-powerful  God.  "AVhatsoever  he  pleaseth, 
that  doeth  he  in  heaven,  in  the  earth,  and  in  all  deep 
2^1aces."  lie  never  can  want  power  to  execute  what  his 
wisdom  deems  to  be  best  for  those  he  cares  for.  When  a 
Christian  is  "  afraid  of  a  man  that  shall  die,  and  of  the  son 
of  man  who  shall  be  made  as  the  grass,"  surely  it  is  in 
momentary  forgetfulness  that  Pie  who  cares  for  him  is  "the 
Lord  his  Maker,  who  stretched  forth  the  heavens,  and  laid 
the  foundations  of  the  earth  ;  the  Lord  God  who  divided 
the  seas,  whose  waters  roared  ;  the  Lord  of  hosts  is  his 
name."  Then  he  is  God,  ever  present,  omnipresent;  nothing 
can  overtake  you  in  his  absence.  The  connection  in  the 
parallel  passage  in  Phil.  iv.  5,  6,  deserves  to  be  marked. 
"  The  Lord  is  at  hand ;  be  careful  for  nothing."  Then 
still  further :  He  is  "  the  God  of  all  grace  ;"  "  the  Father 
of  mercies."  He  who  cares  for  you,  has  his  wisdom  and 
power  influenced  and  guided  by  infinite  love,  infinite  love  to 
you.  Hear  his  own  words,  which  are  as  true  in  reference 
to  every  one  of  his  people  individually,  as  in  reference  to 
their  collective  body,  the  Church :  "  Can  a  woman  forget 
her  sucking  child,  that  she  should  not  have  compassion  on 
the  son  of  her  womb  ?  yea,  she  may  forget ;  yet  will  not  I 
forget  thee."  This  love  will  keep  wisdom  ever  wakeful, 
power  ever  active,  in  reference  to  the  true  interests  of  its 
objects.  Is  not  anxiety,  then,  on  the  part  of  the  Christian, 
a  very  needless,  and  therefore  a  very  unreasonable  thing  1 
Surely  it  is  very  unwise  in  him  not  to  cast  his  care  on 
God.^ 

But  it  is  worse  than  unwise ;  it  is  ungrateful  and  unduti- 
ful.     When  God  says,  '  Leave  these   matters  which  you 
cannot  manage  to  my  management,'  if  we  refuse,  what  is  it 
1  Ps.  cxxxv.  6  ;  Isa.  li.  12,  15,  xlix.  15. 


PART  II]  A  STATE  OF  CAREFULNESS.  325 

but  to  insult  our  divine  Benefactor  by  discovering  doubts  of 
liis  sincerity,  or  of  his  wisdom,  or  of  his  power  ?  Whether 
would  the  ingratitude  or  the  folly  of  the  Levite  of  Mount 
Ephraini  have  been  greater,  if  he  had  met  the  generous 
invitation  of  the  hospitable  old  man  of  Gibeah,  "  Let  all 
thy  wants  lie  on  me,  only  lodge  not  in  the  street,"  with  a 
sullen  refusal?  And  when  the  greatest  and  best  of  all 
beings  says  to  us,  who  are  but  dust  and  ashes, '  Let  all  your 
wants  lie  upon  me ' — wants  we  well  know  we  cannot  supply, 
but  he  can — where  shall  we  find  words  to  describe  the  base- 
ness "and  the  absurdity  of  putting  away  from  us  so  generous, 
so  needed  a  boon?  Is  it  a  fitting  return  for  all  his  kind- 
ness, to  insist  on  keeping  hold  of  a  burden  from  which  he 
is  willing  to  release  us,  when  getting  rid  of  that  burden 
is  necessary  to  enable  us  to  yield  him  the  cheerful,  ready, 
joyful  service  he  so  well  deserves  ?  Surely  when  he  says, 
'  I  would  have  you  without  carefulness,  that  you  may  serve 
me  without  fear  in  righteousness  and  holiness  all  the  days  of 
your  lives,'  the  sense  of  his  kindness  and  the  desire  of  his 
glory  should  equally  lead  us  to  comply  with  the  command, 
"  Cast  all  your  care  on  God."  Indeed,  wherever  the  pro- 
position, '  God,  the  infinitely  powerful,  wise,  and  benignant 
Sovereign  of  the  universe,  cares  for  me,  is  interested  in  my 
welfare,  and  has  pledged  himself  to  secure  it,'  is  understood 
and  believed,  in  the  degree  in  which  it  is  understood  and 
believed,  it  does,  it  must,  banish  carefulness  and  anxiety 
from  the  mind.  Here,  as  in  so  many  other  cases,  it  is  with 
a  man  according  to  his  faith.  Oh,  how  happy,  oh,  how 
holy,  should  we  be !  how  easy  should  labour  be,  how  light 
affliction  !  could  we  but,  believing  that  God  cares  for  us, 
"  cast  all  our  care  on  him,"  saying,  "•'  I  am  poor  and  needy ; 
but  the  Lord  thinketh  on  me !  Thou  art  my  help  and 
deliverer,  O  my  God  !"^ 

1  Ps.  xl.  17. 


326  AFFLICTION.  [DISC.  XXII. 

Thus  have  I  turned  your  attention  to  affliction  as  a  state 
calculated  to  excite  anxiety  and  carefulness  ;  to  the  afflicted 
Christian's  duty  in  reference  to  this  view  of  affliction — to 
cast  all  his  anxieties  on  God  ;  and  to  the  motive  urging  him 
to  this  course — God  cares  for  him. 

This  is  the  duty  of  the  Christian  at  all  times,  and  the 
motive  is  equally  powerful  in  all  circumstances.  The  in- 
ward ear  of  the  Christian  should  ever  be  open  to  these 
words  of  the  great  Master,  so  full  of  wisdom,  so  full  of 
love :  "  Take  no  thought ;  be  not  careful,"  anxious  "  for 
your  life,  what  ye  shall  eat,  or  what  ye  shall  drink  ;  nor  for 
your  body,  what  ye  shall  put  on  :  Is  not  the  life  more  than 
meat,  and  the  body  than  raiment?  Behold  the  fowls  of 
the  air;  for  they  sow  not,  neither  do  they  reap,  nor  gather 
into  barns  ;  yet  your  heavenly  Father  feedeth  them.  Are 
ye  not  much  better  than  they  ?  Which  of  you,  by  taking 
thought,"  by  anxiety,  "  can  add  one  cubit  to  his  stature," 
or,  as  it  has  been  explained,  "  one  moment  to  his  life  ? 
And  why  take  ye  thought  for  raiment  ?  Consider  the 
lilies  of  the  field,  how  they  grow  :  they  toil  not,  neither  do 
they  spin  ;  and  yet  I  say  unto  you,  that  even  Solomon,  in 
all  his  glory,  was  not  arrayed  as  one  of  these.  Wherefore, 
if  God  so  clothe  the  grass  of  the  field,  which  to-day  is,  and 
to-morrow  is  cast  into  the  oven,  shall  he  not  much  more 
clothe  you,  O  ye  of  little  faith  ?  Therefore  take  no  thought, 
be  not  anxious,  saying,  What  shall  we  eat  ?  or  what  shall 
we  drink?  and  wherewithal  shall  we  be  clothed  I  (for  after 
all  these  things  the  Gentiles  seek),  for  your  heavenly  Father 
knoweth  that  ye  have  need  of  all  these  things.  But  seek 
first  the  kingdom  of  God  and  his  righteousness,  and  all 
these  things  shall  be  added  to  you.  Fear  not,  little  flock ; 
it  is  your  Father's  good  pleasure  to  give  you  the  kingdom."  ^ 

There  is  a  class,  a  large  class  of  men,  and  it  is  very  likely 
1  Luke  xii.  22-32. 


PART  II]  A  STATE  OF  CAREFULNESS.  327 

there  are  some  of  them  here,  to  whom  I  can  address  neither 
the  exhortation  nor  the  encouragement  in  the  text  in  the 
true  sense — that  which  I  have  endeavoured  to  bring  out  to 
you  ;  to  whom  I  dare  not  say,  Cast  your  care,  all  your  care, 
ay,  any  of  your  care,  on  God  ;  to  whom  I  cannot  say,  God 
cares  for  you  in  the  way  in  which  he  cares  for  his  own,  for 
them  who  know  and  love  him  ;  for  those  I  refer  to  are  none 
of  his.  His  creatures  they  are,  but  his  disobedient  creatures; 
his  subjects,  but  his  rebellious  subjects :  they  are  not  his 
children,  they  are  not  his  people.  There  are  men  whose 
anxieties  are  all  engaged  about  worldly,  many  of  them  about 
sinful,  objects.  Even  with  their  very  low  notions  of  the 
divine  character,  they  themselves  would  be  ashamed  to  take 
their  cares  and  anxieties  to  God  in  prayer,  and  try  to  cast 
tliem  on  him.  They  feel  that  it  would  be  to  insult  Inm  to 
do  so.  Their  inward  feeling  is,  the  less  God  hears  of  such 
things  the  better.  They  are  cares  he  would  never  take  off 
their  hand,  and  undertake  for.  And  though  there  is  a 
sense  in  which  God's  mercies,  God's  "  tender  mercies,  are 
over  all  his  works,"  in  which  he  cares  for  all ;  yet,  with 
reo-ard  to  those  who  are  livinfj  in  unbelief  and  disobedience, 
it  is  quite  plain  that,  remaining  in  that  state,  what  they 
have  to  depend  on  is  not  pledged  covenant  love.  Their 
dependence,  if  they  have  any,  must  be  a  presumptuous 
dependence  on  insulted  kindness,  or  severely  tried  patience 
and  long-suffering.  Such  persons  are  proper  objects  of 
deep  sympathy,  shutting  themselves  out,  as  they  do,  from 
all  rational  support  and  consolation,  amid  the  anxieties  and 
perplexities  and  sorrows  of  life.  Oh  that  we  could  awaken 
even  one  such  person  to  carefulness  about  that  of  which  he 
has  no  care — the  salvation  of  the  soul ;  to  anxiety  about 
that  regarding  which  he  is  not  at  all  anxious, — the  miseries 
of  eternity  !  Oh  that  we  could  hear  him,  like  Ephraim, 
bemoaning  himself,  and  saying,  "  What  is  a  man  profited  if 


328  AFFLICTION,  [DISC.  XXII. 

he  gain  the  whole  world,  and  lose  his  own  soul  ?  Who  can 
dwell  with  devouring  fire  1  who  can  dwell  with  the  ever- 
lasting burnings  ?  How  shall  I  come  before  the  Lord  ? 
How  shall  I  stand  before  this  holy  Lord  God  ?  Oh  how 
shall  I  escape,  or  how  shall  I  endure  the  wrath  to  come  ? 
What,  what  must  I  do  to  be  saved  ? "  Then  when  he  is 
beginning  to  despair,  we  should  begin  to  hope  of  him.  Then 
should  we  say,  with  all  the  intensity  of  earnestness  we 
could  throw  into  our  language  and  voice, — for  however 
desirable  such  anxiety  is,  in  comparison  of  stupid  incon- 
sideration  or  presumptuous  confidence,  its  continuance  is 
not  a  desirable  thing ;  the  sooner  it  is  removed,  if  aright 
removed,  the  sooner  it  is  got  quit  of,  if  safely  disposed  of, 
the  better, — then  we  should  say,  Poor  overburdened  one, 
cast  thy  care  on  God,  the  God  of  salvation.  He  cares  for 
thee,  he  alone  can  release  thee.  In  the  belief  of  the  truth 
respecting  his  gracious  character,  manifested  in  consistency 
with,  in  glorious  illustration  of,  his  immaculate  holiness  and 
infinite  justice  in  the  atoning  death  of  his  Son,  the  just 
One,  in  the  room  of  the  unjust,  you  may  obtain,  you  shall 
obtain,  relief  at  once  from  a  burden  of  guilt,  which  will 
certainly,  if  unremoved,  sink  your  soul  to  hell,  as  well  as 
from  a  burden  of  anxiety  which,  if  unremoved,  may  lay 
your  body  in  an  untimely  grave.  And  in  getting  relief 
from  that  anxiety,  a  foundation  is  laid  for  getting  relief 
from  all  anxieties ;  and  henceforwai'd  we  could  with  un- 
faltering voice  address  to  him  the  words  of  the  text,  in  all 
the  blissful  immeasurable  breadth  and  depth  of  meaning 
which  belongs  to  them  :  "  Oast  all  your  care  on  God,  for 
he  cares  for  you."  Oh  that  it  may  be  so  with  some  poor 
tlioughtless  sinner,  anxious  about  everything  but  that  about 
which,  above  all  other  things,  he  has  cause  to  be  anxious  ! 
Amen. 


DISC.  XXII  ]  NOTES.  .  329 

Note  A.  p.  287. 

The  following  views  of  affliction,  in  a  work  not  likely  to  come 
into  the  hands  of  many  of  my  readers,  discover  so  deep  and 
accurate  an  acquaintance  with  human  nature,  Scripture  doctrine, 
and  religious  experience,  that  I  count  on  thanks  for  giving  them 
a  place  here  : — 

"  That  supposed  greatness  of  soul  which  considers  suffering  as 
a  plaything,  upon  which  one  should  throw  himself  with  manly 
courage,  is  not  to  be  met  with  on  the  territory  of  Scripture ; 
upon  that,  everywhere,  appear  faint,  weak,  and  dissolving  hearts, 
finding  their  strength  and  consolation  only  in  God.  This  circum- 
stance arises  from  more  than  one  cause. 

"  I.  Suffering  has  quite  another  aspect  to  the  members  of  God's 
Church  than  to  the  Avorld.  While  the  latter  regard  it  only  as  the 
effect  of  accident,  which  one  should  meet  with  manly  courage, 
the  pious  man  recognises  in  every  trial  the  visitation  of  an  angry 
God,  a  chastisement  for  his  sins.  This  is  to  him  the  real  sting  of 
the  suffering,  from  which  it  derives  its  power  to  pierce  into  the 
marrow  and  bone.  '  Rightly  to  feel  sin,'  says  Luther,  '  is  the 
torture  of  all  tortures.'  He  who  considers  suffering  in  that  light 
cannot,  without  impiety,  attempt  to  cast  it  to  the  Avinds.  He 
must  regard  it  as  his  duty  to  allow  it  to  go  to  his  heart ;  and  if 
this  is  not  the  case,  even  that  must  become  again  the  object  of 
his  pungent  sorrow.  To  make  light  of  tribulations  is  all  one,  in 
the  reckoning  of  Scripture,  Avith  making  light  of  God. 

"  II.  The  tenderer  the  heart,  the  deeper  the  pain.  Living 
piety  makes  the  heart  soft  and  tender,  refines  all  its  sensibilities, 
and  consequently  takes  aAvay  the  power  of  resistance  which  the 
Avorld  possesses  from  th'e  roughness  of  its  heart.  Many  sources 
of  pain  are  opened  up  in  the  Christian  which  are  closed  in  the 
ungodly.  Love  is  much  more  deeply  Avounded  by  hatred  than 
hatred  itself;  righteousness  sees  wickedness  in  a  quite  different 
light  from  what  Avickedness  itself  does ;  a  soft  heart  has  goods  to 
lose  Avhich  an  hard  one  never  possessed. 

"  HI.  The  pious  man  has  a  friend  in  heaven,  and  on  that 
account  no  reason  to  be  violently  overcome  by  his  sorroAV.  He 
permits  the  floods  of  this  quietly  to  pass  over  him,  gives  nature 


330  NOTES.  [DISC.  XXII. 

its  free  spontaneoris  course,  knowing  well  that,  besides  the  natural 
principle,  there  is  another  also  existing  in  him,  which  always 
unfolds  its  energy  the  more,  the  more  that  the  former  has  its 
rights  reserved  to  it,  that  according  to  the  depths  of  the  pain  is 
the  height  of  the  joy  which  is  derived  from  God — that  every  one 
is  consoled  after  the  measure  in  which  he  has  borne  suffering — 
that  the  meat  never  comes  but  from  the  eater,  and  honey  from 
the  terrible.  On  the  contrary,  whosoever  lives  in  the  Avorld 
without  God,  he  perceives  that  for  him  all  is  lost,  when  he  is  lost 
himself  He  girds  himself  up,  gnashes  at  his  pain,  does  violence 
to  nature,  seeks  thereby  to  divert  himself,  and  to  gain  from  nature 
on  the  one  side  what  it  abstracts  from  him  on  the  other;  and  tluis 
he  succeeds  in  obtaining  the  mastery  over  his  pain,  so  long  as 
God  pleases. 

"  IV.  The  pious  man  has  no  reason  to  prevent  himself  and 
others  from  seeing  into  his  heart.  His  strength  is  in  God,  and 
so  he  can  lay  open  his  weakness.  The  ungodly  man,  on  the 
other  hand,  considers  it  as  a  reproach  to  look  upon  himself  in 
his  weakness,  and  to  be  looked  upon  by  others  in  it.  Even  when 
smarting  with  pain  inwardly,  he  feigns  freedom  from  it  so  long 
as  he  can. 

"  What  is  the  proper  place  of  sufferings,  is  manifest  from  the 
consequence  to  both  classes.  The  pious  man,  Avhile  he  regards 
all  suffering  as  a  punishment,  takes  that  as  the  means  of  leading 
him  to  repentance,  and  derives  from  it  the  fruit  of  righteousness. 
He,  on  the  other  hand,  who  looks  upon  suffering  merely  as  the 
sport  of  accident,  thereby  deprives  himself  of  all  blessing  from 
it ;  and  while  in  this  respect  he  is  not  the  better  for  his  suffering, 
he  is  decidedly  the  worse  in  another.  He  therefore  only  throws 
himself  on  his  own  resources,  only  raises  himself  above  his  suffer- 
ing, awakening  as  much  as  possible  the  fancy  of  his  own  worth, 
dignity,  and  excellence  ;  and  in  the  same  proportion  that  he  calls 
pride  into  exercise,  his  love  decays,  hardness  becomes  his  inse- 
parable companion,  so  that  he  in  reality  feeds  upon  his  own  fat, 
and  quenches  his  thirst  with  his  own  heart's  blood ;  and  the 
question  here  also  is  applicable,  '  What  shall  it  profit  a  man  if 
he  should  gain  the  whole  world  and  lose  his  own  soul  ? '  But 
suffering,  when  borne  with  faith,  serves  to  free  the  heart  of  its 
natiiral  hardness,  to  make  it  soft,  and  open  it  to  love. 


DISC.  XXII.]  NOTES.  331 

"  Finally,  it  is  possible,  even  at  so  dear  a  cost,  to  find  consola- 
tion out  of  God  only  for  smaller  sufferings.  "While  nothing  can 
happen  amiss  to  the  righteous,  however  much  may  befall  him  of 
evil — for  he  strengthens  himself  in  God,  whose  power  is  infinite — 
the  man  Avho  trusts  in  himself  bears  up  only  so  long  as  '  fate,' 
or,  in  truth,  he  who  sends  the  afiliction,  permits.  Every  moment 
he  may  be  precipitated  into  the  abyss  of  despair.  He  who  never 
fainted,  who  used  to  mock  at  the  faintings  of  believers,  and  to 
speak  in  a  contemptuous  tone  of  the  '  plaintive  psalms,'  must 
then  feel  utterly  undone.  Human  strength,  and  whatever  besides 
he  can  summon  to  his  aid,  is  still  but  a  limited  resource  ;  it  finds 
its  proper  antagonist  only  in  what  wounds  the  heel,  and  gives 
way  when  the  resistance  is  too  strong  and  violent  to  be  contended 
with  on  feigned  ground.  Nothing  is  better  fitted  to  show  the 
insufficiency  of  all  human  power  in  the  struggle  against  suffer- 
ing, than  the  valuable  confession  of  King  Frederick  ii.,  who 
spared  no  cost  to  elevate  this  power,  and  whose  great  and  mighty 
soul  certainly  did  the  utmost  that  can  generally  be  accomplished 
in  that  field.  He  says,  among  other  places  in  the  Ejy.  to  UAlem- 
hei%  sec.  12,  p.  9  :  'It  is  unhappy  that  all  who  suffer  must  flatly 
contradict  Zeno ;  as  there  is  none  but  will  confess  pain  to  be  a 
great  evil.'  P.  12:  'It  is  noble  to  raise  one's  self  above  the 
disagreeable  accidents  to  which  we  are  exposed,  and  a  moderate 
stoicism  is  the  only  means  of  consolation  for  the  unfortunate. 
But  whenever  the  stone,  the  gout,  or  the  bull  of  Phalaris  mix  in 
the  scene,  the  frightful  shrieks  which  escape  from  the  sufferers 
leave  no  doubt  that  pain  is  a  real  evil.'  Again,  p.  16:  'When 
a  misfortune  presses  us,  which  merely  affects  our  person,  self- 
■♦  love  mokes  a  point  of  honour  to  Avithstand  vigorously  this  mis- 
fortune ;  but  the  moment  Ave  suffer  an  injury,  Avhich  is  for  ever 
irreparable,  there  is  nothing  left  for  us  in  Pandora's  box  which 
can  bring  consolation,  except,  perhaps,  for  a  man  of  my  advanced 
years,  the  strong  conviction  that  I  must  soon  be  with  those  who 
have  gone  before  me  {i.e.  in  the  land  of  nothingness).  The  heart 
is  conscious  of  a  wound.  The  Stoic  freely  confesses,  '  I  should 
feel  no  pain,  but  I  do  feel  it  against  my  Avill ;  it  consumes,  it 
lacerates  me ;  an  internal  feeling  overcomes  my  strength,  and 
extorts  from  me  complaints  and  fruitless  groans.' " — Hengsten- 
BERG  :    Commentary  on  the  Psalms,  vol.  i.  90-92. 


DISCOURSE  XXIII. 

THE  CHRISTIAN'S  GREAT  ENEMY— HIS  DUTY  IN  REFER- 
ENCE TO  HIM,  AND  HIS  ENCOURAGEMENT  TO  DIS- 
CHARGE IT. 

"Be  sober,  bo  vigilant;  because  your  adversary  tlie  devil,  as  a  roai-ing  lion, 
walketh  about,  seeking  whom  he  may  devour :  whom  resist  stedfast  in  the 
faith,  knowing  that  the  same  afflictions  are  accompilished  in  your  bi'ethren  that 
are  in  the  world.  But  the  God  of  all  grace,  who  hath  called  us  unto  his  eternal 
glory  by  Christ  Jesus,  after  that  ye  have  suffered  a  while,  make  j'ou  perfect, 
stablish,  strengthen,  settle  you :  to  him  be  glory  and  dominion  for  ever  and 
ever.     Amen." — 1  Pet.  v.  8-11. 

There  is  perhaps  no  article  of  revealed  truth  Avhich  lias 
been  more  generally  ridiculed  by  infidels,  and  probably  for 
that  reason  more  frequently  attempted  to  be  explained  away 
by  philosophizing  Christians,  than  the  doctrine  of  the  exist- 
ence and  agency  of  evil  spirits.  That  among  professed 
Christians  highly  absurd  notions  on  this  subject  have  been 
entertained,  and  to  a  certain  extent  are  still  entertained,  I 
am  not  disposed  to  question  ;  but  surely  revelation  cannot 
be  fairly  charged  with  the  errors  and  absurdities  of  those 
who  profess  to  believe  it,  unless  it  can  be  satisfactorily 
proved  that  it  gives  sanction  to  these  errors  and  absurdities. 
In  the  present  instance  it  will  be  no  diflicult  task  to  show 
that  no  such  sanction  is  afforded,  and  that  in  the  doctrine 
of  the  existence  and  agency  of  evil  spirits,  as  taught  in  the 
Holy  Scriptures,  there  is  nothing  irrational  or  ridiculous. 
For  what  is  their  doctrine  on  this  subject?  It  may  be 
thus  briefly  stated  :  '  There  exists  a  numerous  race  of  un- 


DISC.  XXIII]        THE  CHRISTIAN'S  GREAT  ENEMY.  333 

embodied  intelligent  beings,  occupying  a  higher  place  than 
man  in  the  general  scale  of  existence,  who  have  lost  the 
moral  integrity  in  which  they  were  created,  and  who, 
though  under  the  control  of  the  Supreme  Providence,  are 
constantly  engaged  in  an  attempt,  by  a  variety  of  methods, 
and  particularly  by  influencing  in  a  malignant  manner  the 
minds  of  men,  to  uphold  and  extend  the  empire  of  evil  in 
the  universe  of  God.'  Now,  what  principle  of  reason, 
what  appearance  in  nature,  what  well-established  fact,  what 
declaration  of  Scripture,  is  contradicted  by  this  doctrine  ?  I 
know  of  none.    Let  us  look  at  the  subject  a  little  more  closely. 

That  there  should  be  morally  imperfect,  that  is,  wicked 
creatures,  in  a  world  which  owes  its  origin  and  continued 
existence  to  an  all-perfect  Being,  infinite  in  power  and 
wisdom,  holiness  and  benignity ;  and  that  a  being,  capable 
of  moral  judgment,  and  possessed  of  free  agency,  should 
refuse  the  greatest  good  and  choose  the  greatest  evil,  are 
mysterious  facts,  for  which  no  man  can  fully  account,  but 
of  which  surely  no  rational  man  can  seriously  doubt.  Every 
man  has  their  evidence,  alas,  but  too  abundant,  around 
him  and  within  him.  Man  certainly  is  a  depraved  intelli- 
gent being ;  and  if  it  be  certain  that  there  are  depraved 
embodied  spirits,  it  would  be  difficult  to  prove  that  there 
cannot  be  depraved  unembodied  spirits. 

The  mode  in  which  these  immaterial  agents  influence 
human  character  and  conduct  and  destiny,  may  safely  be 
acknowledged  to  be  inexplicable ;  but  the  fact  that  they  do 
possess  and  exert  such  influence  is  not  on  this  ground,  if 
supported  by  appropriate  and  adequate  evidence,  incredible. 
The  mode  in  which  one  human  mind  influences  another, 
though  no  sane  person  can  doubt  of  the  fact,  is  involved  in 
equal  mystery.  It  is  not  more  wonderful,  nor  on  sufficient 
evidence  more  difficult  to  be  believed,  in  some  points  of 
view  it  is  less  so,  that  one  spiritual  being  should  act  on 


334  THE  CHRISTIAN'S  GREAT  ENEMY.        [DISC.  XXIII. 

another  without  the  intervention  of  bodily  organs,  than  that 
by  certain  conventional  sounds  conveyed  to  the  ear,  or  cer- 
tain arbitrary  characters  presented  to  the  eye,  the  thoughts 
and  feelings  of  one  embodied  spirit  should  be  communicated 
to  another  embodied  spirit,  and  become  the  instruments  of 
altering  opinion,  exciting  desire,  stimulating  to  action. 

The  agency  of  the  evil  spirits  on  the  human  mind  is  no 
more  inconsistent  with  the  freedom  of  human  action  than 
the  influence  exerted  by  objects  presented  to  the  mind  by 
the  senses,  or  by  the  reasonings  and  persuasions  of  onr 
fellow-men ;  and  to  him  to  whom  nothing  can  be  difficult, 
since  the  resources  of  his  power  and  wisdom  are  infinite 
and  inexhaustible,  there  can  be  no  more  difficulty  in  over- 
ruling the  agency  of  devils  than  in  overruling  the  agency 
of  wicked  men,  to  the  promotion  of  the  great  ends  of  his 
righteous  and  benignant  government. 

These  remarks  go  no  further,  and  were  intended  to  go  no 
further,  than  to  show  that  the  doctrine  of  the  existence  and 
agency  of  evil  spirits  is  not,  abstractly  considered,  an  absurd 
tenet ;  that  the  attempt  to  put  it  down  by  ridicule  is  alto- 
gether unworthy  of  men  who  lay  claim  to  the  honourable 
appellation  of  philosophers,  lovers  of  wisdom  ;  and  that 
there  is  no  necessity  to  have  recourse  to  metaphor  and  alle- 
gory to  explain  away  those  passages  of  Scripture  which,  in 
their  obvious  and  literal  sense,  explicitly  teach  this  doctrine. 

The  evidence  of  the  existence  and  agency  of  evil  spirits 
is  to  be  sought  for  in  the  Holy  Scriptures.  It  is  entirely 
a  matter  of  supernatural  revelation ;  and  I  have  no  hesi- 
tation in  asserting,  that  such  evidence  is  to  be  found  there 
in  such  abundance  and  explicitness,  that  an  unprejudiced 
reader,  who  believes  the  authenticity  and  inspiration  of  the 
sacred  volume,  and  interprets  its  declarations  on  the  prin- 
ciples which  he  applies  to  written  language  generally,  will 
find  it  as  difficult  to  doubt  of  the  existence  and  doings  of 


PART  I.]       THE  CHRISTIAN'S  GREAT  ENEMY.  335 

such  a  being  as  Satan  or  the  devil,  and  his  subordinate 
agents,  as  of  the  existence  and  doings  of  such  men  as 
Moses  and  Samuel,  Peter  or  Paul. 

The  Dassage  before  us  is  one,  out  of  a  multitude,  which 
clearly  proves  the  existence  and  wide  extent  of  malignant 
spiritual  agency;  and,  in  common  with  the  most  of  such 
passages,  shows  that  this  doctrine  is,  like  the  doctrines 
of  revelation  generally,  not  a  mere  matter  of  curiosity  or 
speculation,  but  calculated  and  intended  to  exert  a  power- 
ful and  a  salutary  influence  in  forming  the  character  and 
guiding  the  conduct  of  Christians  during  their  present 
disciplinary  and  preparatory  state.  The  fact  is  distinctly 
asserted,  that  the  "  devil,  their  adversary,  as  a  roaring  lion, 
walketh  about,  seeking  whom  he  may  devour."  This  asser- 
tion is  made  that  they  may  be  induced  to  resist  him  ;  and 
that,  in  order  to  their  successfully  resisting  him,  they  may 
be  sober  and  watchful,  and  stedfast  in  the  faith ;  and  they 
are  encouraged,  under  the  sufferings  in  which  the  attempts 
of  their  powerful,  and  crafty,  and  cruel,  and  active  adver- 
sary may  involve  them,  by  the  consideration  that  such 
sufferings  have  been  the  common  lot  of  the  faithful  in  all 
ages,  that  they  have  been  enabled  to  endure  them,  and  in 
due  season  have  been  delivered  from  them,  and  by  the  pro- 
mise of  a  divine  support  under  and  a  glorious  triumph  over 
them.  To  these  interesting  topics,  then,  it  is  my  intention 
to  turn  your  minds  in  the  remaining  part  of  the  discourse : 
The  Christian's  adversary ;  the  Christian's  duty  in  reference 
to  this  adversary ;  and  the  Christian's  encouragement  while 
engaged  in  performing  this  duty. 

T.    THE  christian's  GREAT  ENEMY. 

Let  us  first,  then,  consider  the  statement  made  respect- 
ing the  Christian's  adversary :  "  Your  adversary,  the  devil. 


336  THE  CHRISTIAN'S  GREAT  ENEMY.        [DISC.  XXIII 

as  a  roaring  lion,  walketli  about,  seeking  whom  he  may 
devour."  There  are  two  questions  which  here  requii'e 
attention  :  Who  is  this  adversary  ?  and  what  is  here  stated 
in  reference  to  him  ? 


CHAP.  I.    WHO  IS  HE  .»    THE  DEVIL. 

To  tlie  first  question,  Who  is  tliis  adversary  1  the  answer 
is,  He  is  "  the  devih"  The  word  translated  devil  properly 
signifies  accuser,  slanderer,  calumniator,  and  is  given  to  the 
chief  of  evil  spirits  as  an  appropriate  designation.  The 
same  being  is  termed  "  Satan,"  a  word  of  similar  meaning 
with  Devil,  signifying  enemy  or  accuser;  "the  Wicked  One,"' 
to  mark  his  depravity  generally,  and  especially  his  malignity; 
"  Belial,"  a  term  signifying  low,  abject,  describing  both  his 
character  and  situation;  "the  Tempter;"  "the  god  and  the 
prince  of  this  world;"  "the  Chief  of  the  demons;"  "Beelze- 
bub," the  lord  of  the  flies  ;  "  the  Prince  of  the  Power  of  the 
Air;"  "Apollyon,"  the  destroyer;  "he  that  hath  the  power 
of  death;"  "the  Great  Dragon;"  and  "the  Old  Serpent."^ 

With  regard  to  this  very  remarkable  being,  our  informa- 
tion, all  of  course  derived  from  revelation,  though  very 
limited,  is  abundantly  distinct.  He  is  a  being  of  the  angelic 
order,  formed,  as  all  intelligent  beings  were,  and  must  have 
been,  in  a  state  of  moral  integrity,  who,  at  a  period  anterior 
to  the  fall  of  man,  in  consequence  of  violating  the  divine 
law,  in  a  manner  of  which  we  are  not  informed,  was,  along 
with  a  large  number  of  other  spirits,  who,  it  would  appear, 
in  consequence  of  being  seduced  by  him,  were  partakers  of 
his  guilt,  cast  out  of  heaven,  his  "  original  abode,"  placed  in  a 
state  of  degradation  and  punishment,  and  reserved  to  deeper 

1  I  Chron.  xxi.  1  ;  Job  i.  6  ;  Eph.  vi.  IG  ;  2  Cor.  vi.  15 ;  Matt.  iv.  5  ; 
I  Thess.  ii.  5  ;  2  Cor.  iv.  4 ;  Jolin  xii.  31  ;  Matt.  xii.  24  ;  Eph.  ii.  2  ; 
llev.  ix.  11  ;  Heb.  ii.  14;  Kev.  xii.  3,  9. 


PART  I.]  WHO  IS  HE  ?  337 

shame  and  fiercer  pains  "  at  the  day  of  the  revelation  of 
the  righteous  judgment  of  God."  Through  his  mahgnity 
and  falsehood,  man,  who  was  innocent,  became  guilty ; 
man,  who  was  holy,  became  depraved  ;  man,  who  was 
happy,  became  miserable ;  man,  who  was  immortal,  became 
liable  to  death. 

Over  the  minds  of  the  human  race,  while  they  continue 
irregenerate,  he  exercises  a  very  powerful,  though  not  phy- 
sically irresistible  influence,  "working  in  the  children  of 
disobedience,"  and  "leading  them  captive  at  his  will ;"  and 
even  over  their  bodies  he  has  in  many  instances  exercised 
a  malignant  power.  He  exerts  himself,  by  his  numerous 
agents,  infernal  and  human,  in  counteracting  the  divine 
benignant  plan  for  the  salvation  of  men.  Error,  sin,  and 
misery,  in  all  their  forms,  are  ultimately  his  work  ;  his 
animating  principle  is  hatred  of  God,  and  his  leading  object 
the  maintenance  and  extension  of  the  power  of  evil. 

During  that  period  of  holy  light  and  happiness,  the 
millennium,  to  which  the  Church  and  the  world  have  so 
long  looked  forward  with  eager  desire,  his  power  and 
opportunities  to  do  evil  will  be  greatly  diminished,  if  not 
entirely  taken  away.  In  the  period  immediately  preceding 
the  general  judgment,  he  will  again  manifest  his  unchanged 
hostility  to  the  benignant  designs  of  God  respecting  man  ; 
and  when  the  "mystery  of  God  is  finished,"  will,  along  with 
those  angels  and  men  who  have  chosen  him  for  their  leader 
in  preference  to  G6d,  be  cut  off  for  ever  from  all  inter- 
course with  the  unf  alien  and  restored  part  of  the  intelligent 
creation,  and  "  punished  with  everlasting  destruction  from 
the  presence  of  the  Lord,  and  the  glory  of  his  power." 


VOL.  III. 


338  THE  CHRISTIAN'S  GREAT  ENEMY.        [DISC,  XXIII. 


CHAP.  II.    WHAT  IS  HE  ? 

§  1.  He  is  an  adversary — their  adversary. 

Let  us  now  inquire,  in  the  second  place,  what  is  said  of 
this  extraordinary  being  in  the  passage  before  us.  He  is 
the  Christian's  adversary :  "  your  adversary  the  devil."  He 
is  ''the  adversary;"  the  friend  of  none,  the  enemy  of  all. 
Enmity,  malignity,  is  the  veiy  element  of  his  moral  being. 
He  hates  God,  and  men,  and  holy  angels  ;  and  the  only  tie 
apparently  existing  between  him  and  his  subordinate  agents, 
is  a  common  enmity  against  God,  and  all  that  is  God's. 
Pie  is  the  adversary  of  all  men.  He  has  deeply  injured  the 
race ;  and  he  does  not  pity,  but  hate,  those  whom  he  has 
injured.  "  Murderer,"  manslayer,  is  his  name  from  the  be- 
einninff.^ 

But  he  is  peculiarly  the  adversary  of  that  portion  of 
mankind  who  have  been  led  by  the  good  Spirit  to  revolt 
from  his  usurped  dominion,  to  place  themselves  under  the 
guidance  of  the  Captain  of  the  Lord's  host,  and  to  become 
fellow-workers  under  him  in  the  accomplishment  of  his 
great  enterprise,  which  is  "  to  destroy  the  works  of  the 
devil."  Both  as  individuals  and  as  a  body,  true  Christians 
are  the  objects  of  the  peculiar  enmity  of  the  evil  one.  This 
is  the  truth  which  is  taught  us  in  the  Apocalypse,  when  we 
are  told  that  "  the  dragon  persecuted  the  woman  who  was 
clothed  with  the  sun,  and  had  the  moon  under  her  feet,  and 
upon  her  head  a  crown  of  twelve  stars ;  being  wroth  with 
her,  and  making  war  with  the  remnant  of  her  seed,  which 
keep  the  commandments  of  God,  and  have  the  testimony 
of  Jesus  Christ."  "  They  were,"  as  Archbishop  Leighton 
says,  "once  under  his  power;  and  now,  being  escaped  from 
him,  he  pursues  them,  as  Pharaoh  with  all  his  forces,  as  a 
1  John  viii.  44.     'A.vSpu'roxrivos. 


PART  I.]  WHAT  IS  HE  ?  339 

prey  that  was  once  in  his  den,  and  under  his  paw;  and 
now  that  it  is  rescued,  he  rages  and  roars  after  it."  His 
object  is  the  destruction  of  the  Christian  cause, — the  cause 
of  truth  and  hohness,  of  God's  glory  and  man's  happiness  ; 
and  therefore  he  cannot  but  be  the  adversary  of  those  who 
seek  to  promote  that  cause.  He  exerts  himself,  by  craft  or 
violence,  to  induce  them  to  abandon  that  cause,  by  doing 
which  their  sharing  his  destruction  would  be  secured  ;  or 
if  he  cannot  succeed  in  this  object,  he  endeavours  to  make 
as  miserable  as  he  can  in  this  world,  those  whom  he  knows 
he  will  have  no  opportunity  of  tormenting  in  the  next. 

Of  the  manner  in  which  their  adversary  manifests  his 
enmity  to  them,  we  have  a  very  picturesque  account  in 
these  words,  "  As  a  roaring  lion,  he  walketh  about  seeking 
whom  he  may  devour."  Under  the  influence  of  inflamed 
malignity,  which  will  not  let  him  rest,  compared  to  the 
lion's  appetite  for  blood,  sharpened  by  hunger,  he,  in  the 
exercise  of  his  power  and  craft,  both  of  which  are  indicated 
by  the  figure,  the  lion  being  at  once  strong  and  wily,  is 
constantly  endeavouring  to  do  them  mischief.  It  is  highly 
probable  that  the  apostle  had  immediately  in  his  eye  the 
attempts  which  the  wicked  one  was  then  making,  by  means 
of  his  agents  both  infernal  and  human,  to  produce  those 
fearful  persecutions  on  the  part  of  the  Roman  pagan  empire, 
by  which  the  faith  and  patience  of  the  saints  were  so  severely 
tried,  by  which  multitudes  were  induced  to  make  shipwreck 
of  faith  and  a  good  conscience  ;  turning  back  to  perdition, 
becoming  his  prey,  body  and  soul,  for  ever.  And  multi- 
tudes more,  who  were  faithful  to  the  death,  and  obtained  a 
crown  of  life,  M-ere  "  by  the  devil  cast  into  prison,  and 
suffered  tribulation;"  "they  had  trial  of  cruel  mockings 
and  scourgings  :  they  were  stoned,  they  were  slain  by  the 
sword ;  they  wandered  about  in  sheep-skins  and  goat-skins ; 
being   destitute,  afflicted,    tormented  ;    they  wandered   in 


340  THE  CHRISTIAN'S  GREAT  ENEMY.        [DISC.  XXIII. 

deserts  and  in  mountains,  and  in  dens  and  in  caves  of  the 
earth."  While  I  have  Httle  doubt  that  this  is  the  immediate 
reference  of  the  words,  they  bring  before  the  mind  certain 
general  truths  respecting  our  great  spiritual  enemy,  of  which 
it  is  of  great  importance  that  Christians  in  all  countries  and 
ages  should  be  habitually  mindful.  They  lead  us  to  think 
of  him  as  subtle,  active,  cruel,  and  powerful. 

§  2.  He  is  a  subtle  adversary/. 

This  passage  leads  us  to  think  of  our  great  adversary  as 
subtle.  The  lion,  like  all  other  beasts  of  prey,  is  endowed 
with  a  high  degree  of  sagacity,  to  enable  it  to  discover  and 
surprise  its  prey.  When  David  would  convey  to  our  minds 
an  idea  of  the  cunning  of  his  enemies,  he  compares  them  to 
the  lion.  "  He  sitteth  in  the  lurking-places  of  the  villages  : 
in  the  secret  places  doth  he  murder  the  innocent :  his  eyes 
are  privily  set  against  the  poor.  He  lieth  in  wait  secretly 
as  a  lion  in  his  den :  he  lieth  in  wait  to  catch  the  poor :  he 
doth  catch  the  poor,  when  he  draweth  him  into  his  net.  He 
croucheth,  and  humbleth  himself,  that  the  poor  may  fall  by 
his  strong  ones."^  The  figure  naturally  thus  suggests  the 
idea  of  subtlety.  This  is  one  of  the  leading  thoughts,  too, 
suggested  when  the  devil  is  represented  as  the  old  serpent : 
for  "the  serpent  was  more  subtle  than  any  beast  of  the 
field  which  the  Lord  God  had  made." 

Subtlety  is  one  of  the  most  striking  characters  of  our 
great  spiritual  enemy.  He  originally  belonged  to  that 
order  ©f  beings  whose  wisdom  is  proverbial — "  wise  as  an 
angel  of  God ; "  and  when  he  lost  his  moral  purity,  we 
have  no  reason  to  think  he  lost  his  intellectual  energy.  It 
took  a  new  direction,  but  with  unabated  force.  From  the 
change  of  its  object,  it  ceased  indeed  to  deserve  the  name 
of  wisdom.  The  appropriate  appellation  henceforward  was 
1  Ps.  X.  8-10. 


PART  I]  WHAT  IS  HE  ?  341 

craft  or  subtlety.  \Ye  have  a  melancholy  proof  of  his 
cunning,  in  the  method  he  followed  in  his  successful  at- 
tempt to  deceive  the  mother  of  mankind.  With  what  con- 
summate address  does  he  whet  her  curiosity,  quiet  her  fears, 
and  flatter  her  vanity,  till  he  has  accomplished  his  great 
purpose — the  ruin  of  our  race  !  Ever  since  he  obtained 
that  victory  over  our  first  parents,  he  has  been  engaged  in 
tempting  their  children  ;  and  the  experience  of  nearly  six 
thousand  years  added  to  his  natural  cunning  must  have 
rendered  him  expert  indeed  in  the  art  of  deceiving  that  he 
may  destroy.  Accordingly,  we  find  the  apostle  terming 
those  suggestions  by  which  he  endeavours  to  lead  men 
astray  from  God,  "  the  wiles,"  the  devices  "  of  the  devil."  ^ 

He  has  no  power  indeed  of  obtaining  directly  a  know- 
ledge of  the  human  heart.  That  is  the  peculiar  prerogative 
of  Him  who  made  it.  "  I  the  Lord  search  the  heart,  I  try 
the  reins."  ^  But  he  carefully  observes  our  conduct,  and 
shrewdly  draws  conclusions  respecting  our  prevailing  disposi- 
tions. His  temptations  are  regulated  by  the  information  he 
thus  obtains.  He  suits  the  snare  to  the  habits  of  the  bird 
he  means  to  entrap.  He  draws  the  voluptuary  into  the  way 
of  iniquity  by  the  lure  of  pleasure,  the  avaricious  by  the 
promise  of  gain,  the  ambitious  by  the  prospect  of  glory. 
He  goes  round  about  his  victims,  that  he  may  espy  where 
is  the  quarter  in  which  they  are  weakest,  or  least  afraid  of 
attack,  that  he  may  assault  them  there.  He  takes  advan- 
tage of  everything  in  tlieir  temper,  age,  and  condition,  to 
give  effect  to  his  suggestions. 

He  keeps  himself  as  much  as  possible  out  of  view,  and 
manages  his  approaches  so  as  that,  when  danger  is  at 
length  apprehended,  there  is  scarce  a  possibility  of  escape. 
He  even  occasionally  transforms  himself  into  an  angel  of 
light,  and  employs  as  his  instruments,  often  while  they 
1  Rev.  xii.  9 ;  Gen.  iii.  1  ;  Eph.  vi.  11.  ^  Jer.  xvii.  10. 


342  THE  CHRISTIAN'S  GREAT  ENEMY.        [DISC.  XXIII. 

themselves  are  unaware  of  it,  the  very  persons  from  whom 
we  would  have  been  the  last  to  suspect  any  hazard. 

Sometimes  he  gets  possession  of  the  citadel  of  the  heart 
as  it  were  by  storm,  without  allowing  opportunity  or  time 
for  repelling  the  assault.  At  other  times  he  proceeds  by 
sap  and  mine ;  and,  without  alarm  to  the  conscience,  effects 
his  nefarious  purpose.  But  it  were  endless  to  enumerate 
all  the  subtle  devices  by  which  Satan  endeavours  to  disturb 
the  peace  and  retard  the  progress  of  the  saint — to  prevent 
the  repentance  and  to  secure  the  destruction  of  the  sinner. 
Enough  has  been  said  to  show  that  the  figure  chosen  by 
the  sacred  Avriter  is  in  this  respect  a  significant  one ;  and 
that  the  lion,  in  his  arts  for  securing  his  prey,  is  a  truly 
but  an  imperfectly  descriptive  emblem  of  "  him  who  be- 
guiled Eve  through  his  subtlety,"  and  has  deluded  and  is 
deluding  so  many  millions  of  her  sons  into  those  ways  of 
error  and  sin  which  lead  down  to  the  chambers  of  eternal 
death. 

§  3.  He  is  an  active  adversary. 

But  our  great  spiritual  enemy  is  not  only  subtle ;  he  is 
also  active.  The  lion  ranges  far  and  near  in  quest  of  his 
prey.  The  lion  of  hell  is  here  represented  as  walking 
about,  seeking  wliom  he  may  devour.  "  Whence  comest 
thou*?"  said  Jehovah  to  Satan,  when  he,  as  the  accuser  of 
the  brethren,  appeared  in  the  midst  of  the  sons  of  God. 
"Whence  comest  thou?"  The  answer  was,  "  From  going 
to  and  fro  through  the  earth,  and  from  walking  up  and 
down  in  it."  ^  The  malignant  exertions  of  the  wicked  one 
seem  to  be  unintermitted.  Languor  and  fatigue  appear  to 
be  feelings  to  which  he  is  a  stranger.  In  the  book  of 
Revelation  he  is  represented  as  "  accusing  the  brethren 
before  God  day  and  night."  ^  He  is  probably  the  more 
1  Job  i.  7.  2  Eev.  xii.  10. 


PART  I.]  WHAT  IS  HE  ?  343 

assiduous  in  his  labours  of  malignity,  as  he  knows  that  the 
period  for  his  active  exertions  is  limited.  We  cannot  doubt 
that  he  is  aware  of  the  doom  that  awaits  him ;  that,  after  a 
fixed  term  of  ages,  he  is  to  be  cast  into  the  lake  of  fire,  in 
the  abyss  of  woe,  and  kept  there  under  chains,  which  no 
created  power  can,  which  the  uncreated  power  will  not, 
unloose  for  ever.  He  has  nothing  approaching  to  satis- 
faction but  in  propagating  sin  and  misery ;  and  he  knows 
that  this  is  to  come  to  a  close.  "  The  devil  is  come  down 
among  men,  having  great  wrath,  knowing  that  his  time  is 
short,"  or  limited. 

In  realizing  to  our  minds  the  activity  of  our  great  spiri- 
tual foe,  we  are  not  to  think  of  him  merely  as  an  individual. 
No  doubt  he  is  a  very  active  being;  but  this  is  not  all. 
Pie  is  the  chief  and  prince  of  unnumbered  depraved  spirits, 
who  own  his  authority,  prosecute  his  designs,  and  obey  his 
commands.  Their  name  is  legion  ;  for  there  are  many  of 
them.  This  gives  him  a  species  of  ubiquity,  and  enables 
him  to  do  what  no  individual  created  power  and  activity 
could  accomplish. 

His  operations  are  often  really  continued  when  they 
seem  to  be  intermitted.  The  mode  of  conducting  them  is 
changed,  but  the  work  is  not  abandoned  ;  and  if  he  does 
suspend  them  for  a  season,  it  is  but  that  he  may  recom- 
mence them  with  a  greater  probability  of  success.  This 
remark  holds  both  with  respect  to  those  who  are  yet  his 
willing  slaves,  and  to  those  who  have  escaped  from  under 
his  thrall.  "  When  the  unclean  spirit  goeth  out  of  a  man, 
he  walketh  through  dry  places  seeking  rest,  but  finding 
none.  Then  he  saith,  I  will  return  again  to  my  house 
from  whence  I  came  out;  and  when  he  is  come,  he  finds 
this  empty,  swept,  and  garnished.  Then  goeth  he,  and 
taketh  with  him  seven  other  spirits  more  wicked  than  him- 
self, and  they  enter  in  and  dwell  there  :  and  the  last  state 


344  THE  CHEISTIAN'S  GREAT  ENEMY.        [DISC.  XXIII. 

of  that  man  is  worse  than  the  first."  ^  We  have  an  instance 
of  his  returning  to  renew  his  attack  with  redoubled  violence 
on  those  over  whom  he  has  no  power,  in  the  case  of  our 
Lord.  We  read,  after  the  temptation  of  forty  days  in  the 
wilderness,  that  "  the  devil  departed  from  him ; "  but  it  was 
only  in  that  form,  and  but  "  for  a  season."^  He  was  still 
going  about  him,  seeking  an  occasion  to  make  an  attack  on 
him ;  and  we  find  him  in  the  hour  of  exhaustion  and  sorrow 
springing  on  his  victim,  and  by  his  infernal  assault  drawing 
forth  from  the  lips  of  him  who  was  embodied  patience  and 
fortitude  those  awful  words,  as  if  all  he  had  experienced  of 
diabolical  attacks  hitherto  were  unworthy  of  notice,  "  This 
is  your  hour  and  the  power  of  darkness." 

§  4.  He  is  a  aniel  adversary. 

Cruelty  is  another  feature  in  the  character  of  our  great 
spiritual  enemy,  which  the  statement  in  the  text  brings 
before  the  mind.  The  lion  is  a  stranger  to  pity.  Like 
most  ravenous  beasts,  he  seems  to  have  satisfaction  in  in- 
flicting pain.  The  bleating  of  the  lamb  whom  he  is  about 
to  devour  awakens  in  him  no  relentings,  and  he  regards  not 
the  agonies  he  occasions  to  the  bleeding,  mangled  sufferer. 
Equally  ruthless  is  the  great  murderer  from  the  beginning, 
the  great  destroyer  of  human  souls.  He  appears  to  have  a 
savage  satisfaction  in  producing  misery.  The  lion,  when 
he  tears  to  pieces  the  quivering  limbs  of  the  slaughtered 
kid,  has  an  enjoyment  altogether  separate  from  the  grati- 
fication of  the  desire  to  destroy.  He  satisfies  the  painful 
cravings  of  hunger,  and  obtains  nourishment  for  his  body. 
But  the  destroyer  of  human  innocence  and  peace,  the  de- 
vourer  of  souls,  derives  no  advantage,  can  derive  no  advan- 
tage, knows  that  he  can  derive  no  advantage,  from  the 
miseries  which  he  inflicts,  the  ruin  which  he  occasions.  On 
1  Matt.  xii.  43-45.  2  Luke  iv.  13. 


PART  I.]  WHAT  IS  HE  ?  345 

the  contrary,  every  malignant  act  deepens  his  guilt,  and 
will  aggravate  his  future  condemnation  ;  and  he  cannot  but 
be  aware  of  this.  Yet  so  deeply  is  the  desire  of  diffusing 
misery  rooted  in  his  nature,  that  though  conscious  that  in 
yielding  to  it  he  is  but  rendering  his  miserable  condition 
more  miserable,  "  treasuring  up  to  himself  wrath  against 
the  day  of  wrath,  and  revelation  of  the  righteous  judgment 
of  God,"  he  still,  day  and  night,  restlessly  seeks  for  oppor- 
tunities of  making  the  good  bad,  and  the  bad  worse,  the 
happy  miserable,  and  the  miserable  more  miserable. 

§  5.  He  is  a  powerful  adversary. 

The  only  other  idea  suggested  by  the  figurative  de- 
scription of  our  great  spiritual  enemy  is,  that  he  is  a  being 
of  formidable  power.  Solomon  informs  us  that  the  "  lion 
is  the  strongest  among  beasts,"  \  and  I  believe  modern 
naturalists  hold  that  there  is  no  animal  of  the  same  size 
which  possesses  so  much  muscular  power.  The  devil  be- 
longs to  an  order,  the  angelic,  which  excels  in  strength  ; 
and  though  we  know  his  powers  are  restrained  by  the 
divine  providence,  we  have  no  reason  to  think  that  his 
moral  depravation  produced  any  diminution  of  his  physical 
energy.  The  tempest  which  overwhelmed  the  family  of 
Job  in  the  ruins  of  the  house  of  their  elder  brother,  and 
the  fearful  effects  produced  both  on  the  bodies  and  the 
minds  of  those  individuals  who  were  the  subjects  of  demo- 
niac possession,  prove  both  what  he  can  do,  and  would  ck), 
if  not  restrained  by  a  superior  power.  To  what  extent  he 
can  and  does  employ  physical  agents,  what  are  commonly 
termed  the  powers  of  nature,  in  executing  his  malignant 
designs,  we  cannot  tell.  This  we  know,  that  the  Scripture 
representations  naturally  lead  us  to  think  of  Satan  as  not 
weak,  but  powerful.  He  is  emblematized  in  the  parable  by 
1  Prov.  XXX.  30. 


346  THE  CHRISTIAN'S  GREAT  ENEMY.        [DISC.  XXIII. 

"  the  strong  man ;"  and  the  apostle  obviously  estimates  those 
unseen  opponents,  of  whom  the  devil  is  the  leader,  as  far 
more  formidable  foes  than  the  most  powerful  human  enemies. 

We  need,  according  to  him,  divine  strength  and  heavenly 
armour  to  resist?  such  enemies.  "  Be  strong,"  says  he,  "  in 
the  Lord,  and  in  the  power  of  his  might.  Put  on  the  whole 
armour  of  God,  that  ye  may  be  able  to  stand  against  the 
wiles  of  the  devil :  for  we  wrestle  not  against  flesh  and 
blood,  but  against  principalities  and  powers,  against  the 
rulers  of  the  darkness  of  this  world,  against  spiritual  wicked- 
ness in  high  places."^  So  much  for  illustration  of  the 
apostle's  statement  respecting  the  Christian's  great  spiritual 
enemy,  so  subtle,  so  active,  so  cruel,  so  powerful. 

That  part  of  our  subject  which  we  have  attempted  to 
illustrate,  is  replete  with  important  practical  instruction. 

What  a  striking  view  does  the  contrast  of  the  original 
and  the  present  character  and  employment  of  the  devil,  give 
us  of  the  malignant  nature  and  tremendous  power  of  moral" 
evil !  He  who  is  now  the  worst  and  the  most  miserable  of 
created  beings,  was  once  one  of  the  best  and  the  happiest. 
He  who  now  prowls  about  the  universe,  "  a  fugitive  and  a 
vagabond,"  restless  and  miserable  everywhere,  had  his  first 
abode  in  the  region  of  perfect  purity,  near  to  the  throne  of 
the  Eternal ;  and  instead  of,  as  now,  going  about  seeking 
how  he  can  waste  and  destroy  the  best  part  of  God's  works, 
his  constant  employment  and  delight  was  to  celebrate  the 
praises  and  do  the  commandments  of  Jehovah,  hearkening 
to  the  voice  of  his  word.  And  what  has  effected  the  fearful 
change  ?  What  has  converted  the  angel  into  the  devil  ? 
It  was  sin  ;  that  only  evil  in  God's  universe  in  which  there 
is  no  good;  that  evil,  the  depths  of  whose  malignity  no 
created  mind  can  sound.  Man  in  his  fallen  state  compared 
with  man  in  his  primeval  state,  earth  in  its  present  state 
1  Matt.  xii.  29;  Eph.  \a.  11-13. 


PART  I.]  WHAT  IS  HE  ?  347 

compared  with  paradise,  strikingly  show  that  it  is  an  evil 
and  a  bitter  thing  to  depart  from  God  ;  but  still  more 
striking  is  the  illustration  we  have  of  this  most  important 
truth,  when  we  contrast  the  accursed  fiend  with  the  holy 
angel,  and  the  bottomless  pit  and  the  fiery  lake  with  the 
palace  of  the  great  King,  the  Lord  of  hosts,  and  the  rivers 
of  pleasure  that  are  at  his  right  hand  for  evermore. 

How  disgraceful  and  miserable  must  be  the  condition  of 
those  who  are  the  slaves  of  this  subtle,  active,  cruel,  power- 
ful, depraved  intelligence,  in  turns  the  instruments  of  his 
detestable  designs  and  the  victims  of  his  insatiable  cruelty  ! 
And  this  is  the  situation  of  all  unconverted  men,  whether 
they  are  aware  of  it  or  not.  They  are  of  their  father  the 
devil ;  and  his  lusts — ^the  things  he  desires  and  delights  in — 
they  willingly  abuse  their  powers  and  degrade  their  nature 
in  doing.  They  are  "taken  captive  by  him  at  his  will."^ 
He  is  their  successful  tempter  now.  He  will  be,  if  mercy 
prevent  not,  their  unrelenting  tormentor  for  ever.  Oh  that 
they  were  aware  of  the  horrors  of  their  situation,  that  they 
saw  its  debasement,  that  they  felt  its  wretchedness,  that  they 
realized  its  dangers ! 

How  grateful  should  we  be  to  Hui  who  came  to  destroy 
the  works  of  the  wicked  one,  and  to  deliver  men  from  his 
usurped  dominion  and  baleful  power !  The  house  of  the 
strong  man  has  been  entered  by  one  stronger  than  he. 
The  prey  has  been  taken  from  the  mighty,  and  the  captive 
of  the  terrible  one  delivered.  The  greatness  of  the  blessing, 
apart  from  the  manner  in  which  it  was  procured,  calls  for 
lively  gratitude ;  but  the  claims  of  our  Deliverer  are  felt 
to  be  tenfold  strong,  when  we  recollect  that  He,  the  only- 
begotten,  the  Holy  One,  of  God,  submitted  to  be  tempted 
of  the  devil,  to  have  the  moral  sensibilities  of  his  holy  nature 
shocked  and  tortured  by  his  loathsome  suggestions,  that  we 

1  2  Tim.  ii.  2G. 


348  THE  CHRISTIAN'S  GREAT  ENEMY.        [DISC.  XXIII. 

might  be  delivered  from  his  power,  and  be  taught  by  the 
example  of  "the  Captain  of  our  salvation"  how  to  conduct 
the  conflict  with  the  enemy,  so  as  to  become  more  than 
conquerors  through  him  who  loved  us.  Blessed,  ever  blessed 
be  he  who  came  in  the  name  of  the  Lord  to  bruise  the  head 
of  the  old  serpent,  and  who,  through  the  merit  of  his  atone- 
ment and  the  power  of  his  Spirit,  enables  the  most  feeble 
and  timid  of  his  people  to  "  tread  on  the  lion  and  the  adder," 
and  to  "  trample  the  young  lion  and  the  dragon  under  foot." 

Let  Christians  rejoice  that,  if  a  subtle,  cruel,  active,  and 
powerful  enemy  is  continually  prowling  about,  the  eye  of 
infinite  wisdom  and  love  rests  ever  on  them,  the  arm  of 
never-tiring  omnipotence  is  ever  around  them  to  protect  and 
defend  them.  The  lion  of  hell  is  a  chained  lion,  a  muzzled 
lion,  to  Christians.  He  may  alarm,  but  he  shall  never 
devour  them.  His  chain  is  in  the  hand  of  his  conqueror 
and  their  Lord. 

It  was  very  natural  for  Peter  to  put  his  brethren  in  mind 
of  their  great  enemy.  He  must  have  often  thought  of  the 
words  of  our  Lord  Jesus,  "  Simon,  Simon,  Satan  hath  desired 
to  have  thee,  that  he  may  sift  thee  as  wheat ;  but  I  have 
prayed  for  thee,  that  thy  faith  fail  not."  ^  His  experience 
is  full  of  warning  and  encouragement.  It  proves  that  if 
Christians  are  not  cautious,  though  the  lion  of  hell  shall 
not  be  permitted  to  devour  them,  he  may  inflict  wounds  of 
which  they  will  bear  the  marks  till  the  close  of  life ;  and  it 
finely  illustrates"  our  Lord's  declaration,  "  I  give  unto  my 
sheep  eternal  life,  and  they  shall  never  perish  ;  neither  shall 
any  pluck  them  out  of  my  hand."  Neither  their  own  heed- 
lessness, nor  the  malignity  of  their  infernal  foe,  shall  be 
able  to  accomplish  their  destruction.  Let  him,  then,  that  is 
born  of  God,  "  keep  himself,  that  the  wicked  one  touch 
him  not ;"  and  let  his  joy,  that  he  has  a  better  keeper  than 
1  Luke  xxii.  31. 


PART  II.]  DUTY  IN  REFERENCE  TO  HIM.  349 

himself,  even  the  keeper  of  Israel,  who  never  slumbers  nor 
sleeps,  not  produce  security,  but  encourage  vigilance.  God 
keeps  his  people,  not  without,  but  through  their  own  watch- 
fulness. 

Finally,  let  all  of  us  who  have  reason  to  hope  that  we 
have  been  emancipated  from  the  powers  of  the  wicked  one, 
in  our  humble  station  co-operate  with  our  great  Deliverer 
in  rescuing  our  fellow-men  from  the  degrading  bondage, 
from  the  destroying  power  of  his  and  our  great  enemy  ; 
and  while  the  children  of  the  devil  are  so  clearly  proving 
themselves  to  be  so,  by  imitating  him  in  going  about  seeking 
whom  they  may  destroy,  let  us  prove  our  connection  with 
him  whom  we  claim  as  our  Lord  and  Master,  by  going 
about  doing  good,  endeavouring  to  pluck  the  brand  from 
the  burning,  to  pull  the  prey  of  the  lion  of  hell  from  his 
devouring  jaws,  to  seek  and  to  save  what  is  in  extreme 
hazard,  through  the  craft  and  activity,  the  power  and  cruelty 
of  the  wicked  one,  of  being  lost,  lost  for  ever. 

II.    THE  christian's  DUTY  IN  REFERENCE  TO  HIS  GREAT 

ENEMY. 

Let  us  now  consider  the  apostle's  account  of  the  Christian's 
duty  in  reference  to  his  great  spiritual  adversary.  His 
duty  is  to  resist  him ;  and  in  order  effectually  to  resist  him, 
to  be  sober,  to  be  watchful,  to  be  stedfast  in  the  faith. 

CHAP.  I.   WHAT  HE  MUST  DO  TO  HIS  GREAT  ENEMY  : 
RESIST  HIM. 

The  attacks  of  our  great  spiritual  enemy  naturally  divide 
themselves  into  two  classes, — those  which  are  made  on  the 
Christian  as  an  individual,  and  those  which  are  made  on  the 
Christian  cause.    It  is  the  duty  of  the  Christian  to  resist  both. 


350  THE  CHRISTIAN'S  GREAT  ENEIIY.        [DISC.  XXIII. 

§  1.  He  must  resist  his  attacks  on  himself. 

Temptation  to  sin  is  the  manner  in  which  the  evil  one 
attacks  the  individual  Christian.  Sometimes  these  tempta- 
tions are  direct,  oftener  they  are  indirect;  but  all  temptation 
to  sin,  like  all  sin  itself,  may  be  considered  as  directly  or 
indirectly  the  work  of  the  devil.  It  is  much  more  a  matter 
of  curiosity  than  of  use,  to  seek  to  distinguish  accurately 
the  temptations  which  come  immediately  from  the  wicked 
one,  from  those  in  presenting  which  to  the  mind  he  employs 
intermediate  agencies.  But  it  is  of  great  importance  to  re- 
member, that  all  solicitations  to  sin,  from  whatever  quarter 
they  come,  are  in  accordance  with  his  will,  and,  if  not 
resisted,  will  contribute  to  the  gaining  of  his  object  in 
warring  against  the  soul.  Of  all  suggestions  of  this  kind, 
we  may  say  both  that  they  come  not,  they  cannot  come, 
from  above ;  they  do,  they  must,  come  from  beneath.  Of 
some  of  them  we  may  say,  they  are  "  earthly  ;"  of  others, 
they  are  "sensual ;"  of  all,  they  are  "  devilish." 

Generally  speaking,  it  is  the  duty  of  the  Christian  care- 
fully to  keep  out  of  the  way  of  temptation,  to  avoid  every- 
thing which  can  be  avoided  in  consistency  with  duty,  which 
may  afford  an  opportunity  to  the  great  enemy  or  his  agents 
to  assail  him  with  solicitations  to  sin.  It  is  madness  to  hold 
parley  with  him,  or  uncalled  on  to  provoke  him  to  combat. 
Such  unnecessary  tamperings,  such  self-confident  conflicts, 
generally  end  in  sin  and  shame. 

But  the  adversary  will  not  let  the  Christian  alone,  and 
the  path  of  duty  is  a  path  that  sometimes,  indeed  ofttimes, 
leads  into  temptation.  When  the  Christian  is  attacked, 
he  must  not  flee,  he  must  not  yield  himself  up  into  the 
hands  of  his  enemy ;  he  must  resist,  he  must  oppose  him. 
He  must  not  comply  with  his  solicitations.  Like  that  good 
spiritual  soldier  of  ancient  times,  he  must  say,  "  How  can  I 


PART  II.]  DUTY  IN  REFERENCE  TO  HIM.  351 

do  this  great  wickedness  and  sin  against  God  ? "  or,  like  the 
Captain  of  salvation,  he  must  with  the  shield  of  faith  quench 
all  the  fiery  darts  of  the  wicked,  repelling  his  reiterated 
suggestions  by,  "  It  is  written,  it  is  written,"  and  in  holy 
indignation  bidding  him  "get  behind  him."^  He  must  not 
allow  himself  to  deliberate  on  a  proposal  which  involves  in 
it  the  denial  of  truth,  the  neglect  of  duty,  or  the  commission 
of  sin,  by  whatever  plausibilities  and  apparent  advantages 
it  may  be  recommended,  but  immediately,  and  with  abhor- 
rence, reject  it. 

Non-compliance  with  the  suggestions  of  the  wicked  one 
is,  however,  but  a  part  of  the  Christian  duty  of  resistance. 
The  Christian  must  oppose  the  wicked  one.  He  must  not 
merely  stand  on  the  defensive  ;  he  must  attack  the  enemy, 
he  must  quit  himself  like  a  man,  and  so  fight  as  to  turn  to 
flight  the  alien  and  his  armies.  He  must  so  resist  the  devil 
as  that  he  shall  flee  from  him.  In  plain  words,  he  must 
make  solicitations  to  sin  occasions  and  means  of  progress  in 
holiness.  For  example,  when  tempted  to  fretfulness  under 
afiliction,  instead  of  yielding  to  the  temptation,  he  miist 
"  glorify  God  in  the  fires,"  by  more  than  ever  possessing 
his  soul  in  patience,  and  counting  it  all  joy  to  be  brought 
into  manifold  tribulation.  When  tempted  to  be  ashamed 
of  Christ  or  his  cause,  he  must  seize  that  opportunity  of 
making  his  conduct  proclaim  more  loudly  than  ever,  "  God 
forbid  that  I  should  glory,  save  in  the  cross  of  our  Lord 
Jesus  Christ."  When  tempted  to  penuriousness  in  sup- 
porting the  cause  of  Christ,  he  must  give  more  cheer- 
fully, and  if  possible  more  plenteously,  than  ever.  When 
tempted  to  be  "  weary  in  well-doing,"  he  must  feel  this  as ' 
a  powerful  reason  why  he  should  be  "  stedfast  and  unmove- 
able,  always  abounding  in  the  work  of  the  Lord."  When 
tempted  to  associate  with  the  worldly  and  ungodly,  he 
1  Matt.  iv.  4,  7,  10. 


352  THE  CHRISTIAN'S  GREAT  ENEMY.        [DISC.  XXIII. 

should  take  an  opportunity  of  showing  that  in  the  "saints  that 
are  in  the  earth,  and  the  excellent,  is  all  his  delight."  When 
tempted  to  draw  very  near  the  borders  of  criminal  indul- 
gence, let  him  not  even  stand  still  where  he  is,  but  retire 
still  further  from  the  appearance  of  evil,  and  carefully  keep 
off  "  the  debateable  land."  When  the  evil  one  tempts  to 
unfrequency  or  carelessness  in  secret  prayer,  let  it  be  felt 
as  a  reason  why  he  should  seek  to  realize  more  and  more, 
in  his  own  experience,  what  it  is  to  "  pray  in  the  spirit,"  to 
"pray  always,  with  all  prayer  and  supplication,  and  to  watch 
thereunto  with  all  perseverance."  Let  temptations  to  care- 
lessness produce  increased  vigilance,  and  to  indolence  in- 
creased diligence.  Let  attempts  to  make  us  neglect  the 
assembling  of  ourselves  together,  lead  to  more  conscien- 
tious attendance  on  public  religious  services,  and  more 
undivided  attention  in  them.  In  one  word,  let  all  his 
endeavours  to  lead  us  in  the  way  of  sin,  end  in  our  further 
advancement  in  the  opposite  way  of  holiness.  This  is  the 
way  to  turn  the  artillery  of  the  wicked  one  against  himself. 
Nothing  is  so  well  fitted  to  mortify  that  old  adversary,  as  to 
find  that  the  very  means  he  employs  to  produce  our  apostasy 
and  ruin  are  converted  into  the  occasion  of  our  establish- 
ment in  the  faith,  our  advancement  in  holiness,  and  our 
fitness  for  heaven.  So  much  for  the  resistance  which  the 
Christian  is  to  make  to  the  attacks  of  his  great  spiritual 
enemy,  directed  immediately  against  himself  as  an  indi- 
vidual. 

§  2.  H^  must  resist  his  attacks  on  the  Christian  cause. 

But  the  Christian  is  to  resist  not  only  these  attacks ;  he 
is  to  resist  also  the  attacks  which  his  adversary  the  devil  is 
constantly  making  on  the  cause  of  Christ.  He  is  constantly 
engaged  in  endeavouring  to  corrupt  the  truth  as  it  is  in 
Jesus ;  to  introduce  and  maintain  and  extend  error,  and 


PART  II]  DUTY  IN  REFERENCE  TO  HIM.  353 

superstition,  and  fanaticism,  and  schism,  and  bigotiy,  and 
disorder,  and  impurity,  in  the  churches  of  Christ,  and  to 
oppose  the  exertions  which  are  making  to  diffuse  the  know- 
ledge and  the  influence  of  "  the  grace  and  truth  which  came 
by  Jesus  Christ."  Tlie  Christian  is  to  fight  against  Satan 
not  only  in  his  own  heart,  but  in  the  Church  and  the  world. 
There  is  a  battle-field  without  as  well  as  within.  He  is 
carefully  to  avoid  everything  which  may  in  any  way  prove, 
however  unintentionally,  co-operation  with  the  lawless  one 
in  his  nefarious  designs ;  and  by  all  proper  methods  he 
must  endeavour  to  counteract  him. 

He  must,  however,  take  care  not  to  attempt  what  has 
been  too  frequently  attempted — to  vanquish  the  wicked  one 
by  weapons  borrowed  from  his  own  armoury.  He  must 
not  repel  force  by  force,  false  argument  by  false  argument, 
railing  by  railing.  In  such  conflict  the  devil  is  sure  to 
overcome ;  indeed,  the  very  employment  of  these  weapons 
is  a  proof  that  he  has  already,  to  a  certain  degree,  over- 
come. In  this  warfare.  Christians  must  remember  that 
"  the  weapons  of  their  warfare  are  not  carnal,  but  mighty 
through  God  to  the  pulling  down  of  strongholds,  and  bring- 
ing into  captivity  every  high  thought  that  exalteth  itself 
against  the  knowledge  of  God."  Their  motto  must  be, 
"  Not  by  might  and  power,  but  by  God's  Spirit.  By  pure- 
ness,  by  knowledge,  by  long-suffering,  by  kindness,  by  the 
Holy  Ghost,  by  love  unfeigned,  by  the  word  of  truth,  by 
the  power  of  God,  by  the  armour  of  righteousness  on  the 
ritrht  hand  and  the  left."  This  is  the  manner  in  which  the 
apostle  teaches  us  to  carry  on  our  warfare  for  the  cause  of 
Christ  against  the  cause  of  the  devil.  "  The  servant  of 
God  must  not  strive,  but  be  gentle  to  all  men,  apt  to  teach, 
patient ;  in  meekness  instructing  those  who  oppose  them- 
selves, if  God  peradventure  will  give  them  repentance  to 
the  acknowledging  of  the  truth,  and  that  they  may  deliver 

VOL.  III.  Z 


354  THE  CHRISTIAN'S  GREAT  ENEMY.        [DISC.  XXIII. 

themselves  out  of  the  snare  of  the  devil,  who  are  taken 
captive  of  him  at  his  will."  ^ 

Christians  are  not  to  stand  looking  idly  on  when  the 
wicked  one,  by  ignorance  and  error,  and  superstition  and 
profligacy,  is  consummating  the  eternal  perdition  of  men 
by  millions.  No,  they  are  to  "rise  up  for  God  against 
the  evil-doer;  they  are  to  stand  up  for  Him  against"  his 
armies,  "  the  workers  of  iniquity."  As  "  the  armies  of 
heaven,  clothed  in  fine  linen,  white  and  clean,"  ^  they  are 
to  follow  on  their  white  horses  him  whose  name  is  the 
Word  of  God,  faithful  and  true,  who,  clothed  in  a  vesture 
dipped  in  blood,  rides  forth  prosperously  on  his  white  horse, 
"  in  righteousness,  judging  and  making  war,  conquering 
and  to  conquer."  Like  Him,  wherever  they  are,  according 
to  the  facilities  afforded  by  their  circumstances,  they  are 
to  be  constantly  engaged  in  destroying  the  works  of  the 
devil.  Thus,  then,  are  Christians  to  resist  their  adversary 
the  devil.^ 


CHAP.  II.    WHAT  THE  CHRISTIAN  IS  TO  DO  THAT  HE  MAY 
RESIST  HIS  GREAT  ENEMY. 

The  apostle  not  only  enjoins  this  duty  of  resistance ;  he 
also  instructs  Christians  how  they  are  to  be  enabled  to  per- 
form it.  If  they  would  successfully  resist  the  devil,  either 
in  their  own  hearts  or  in  the  Church  and  the  world,  they 
must  "  be  sober,  vigilant,  and  stedfast  in  the  faith."  Let 
us  shortly  explain  these  exercises,  and  show  how  necessary 

1  2  Cor.  X.  4 ;  Zecli.  iv.  6  ;  2  Cor.  vi.  6-8  ;  2  Tim.  ii.  24-26. 

2  Eev.  xix.  11-14. 

■*  Tlie  motives  to  resistance  are  strongly  put  by  Tertullian  :  ' '  Stat 
conflictus  conspector,  Agonothetes,  Deus  vivus  est :  Xystarches,  Spiritus 
Sanctus  :  Epistates,  Christus  Jesus  ;  Corona,  teternitatis  brabium  angelicce 
substantias,  in  coelis  politia,  gloria  in  secula  seculorum. " — Lib.  ad  Mar- 
tyr, iii. 


PART  II.]  DUTY  IN  REFERENCE  TO  HIM.  355 

they  are,  and  how  well  fitted  they  are  to  enable  the  Christian 
to  resist  his  adversary  the  devil. 

When  we  read  these  words,  we  feel  that  the  injunctions 
contained  in  them  have  already  been  given  ;  the  first  of 
them  more  than  once.  The  reiteration  of  such  precepts  in 
so  short  an  epistle,  teaches  a  lesson  both  to  ministers  and 
people,  both  to  the  teachers  and  the  taught.  It  says  to 
the  first,  "  For  you  to  say  the  same  things  should  not  be 
grievous,"  for  to  the  second  "it  is  safe,"  ay,  it  is  neces- 
sary. "  Precept  must  be  on  precept,  line  upon  line ;  here  a 
little,  and  there  a  little."  "  It  were  easy,"  says  Archbishop 
Leighton,  "to  entertain  men's  mind  with  new  discourse," 
if  our  task  were  rather  to  please  than  to  profit :  for  there 
be  many  things  which,  with  little  labour,  might  be  brought 
forth  as  new  and  strange  to  ordinary  hearers.  But  there 
be  a  few  things  which  it  chiefly  concerns  us  to  know  and 
practise,  and  these  are  to  be  more  frequently  represented 
and  pressed.  This  apostle,  and  other  divine  writers,  drew 
from  too  full  a  spring  to  be  ebb  of  matter ;  but  they  rather 
choose  profitable  iterations  than  unprofitable  variety,  and 
so  should  we."  Yet  we  shall  find  that,  though  substantially 
the  same  exhortations  are  repeated,  it  is  always  with  a  pecu- 
liar adaptation  to  the  connection  in  which  they  occur.  They 
are  not  mere  repetitions ;  they  are  examples  of  the  applica- 
tion of  general  principles  or  precepts  to  particular  cases. 
It  is  obviously  so  in  the  instance  before  us. 

§  1.  He  must  he  sober. 

The  word  here  translated  "  be  sober,"  is  the  same  which, 
in  the  seventh  verse  of  the  preceding  chapter,  is  rendered 
"  be  vigilant."  Its  proper  signification  is  to  be  abstinent 
from,  or  temperate  in  the  use  of,  wine  or  other  intoxicating 
drinks.  It  designates  a  state  directly  the  reverse  of  a  state 
of  intoxication.   The  word  may  be  understood  either  literally 


356  THE  CHRISTIAN'S  GREAT  ENEMY.       [DISC.  XXIII. 

or  figuratively.  If  understood  literally,  we  are  here  taught 
that  temperance,  in  reference  to  intoxicating  drinks,  is 
necessary  in  order  to  our  resisting  the  devil.  And  cer- 
tainly nothing  can  be  more  obviously  true  than  this.  The 
natural  tendency  of  intoxicating  drinks  is  to  diminish  the 
power  of  conscience  and  reason,  and  to  increase  the  power 
of  the  lower  principles  of  our  nature,  animal  appetite  and 
irascible  feeling.  It  increases  the  strength  of  what  needs 
to  be  restrained,  and  weakens  the  strength  of  what  is  fitted- 
and  intended  to  restrain.  It  delivers  the  man,  in  one  point 
of  view,  bound  hand  and  foot,  so  far  as  resistance  is  con- 
cerned, into  the  devil's  hands ;  and,  in  another,  presents 
him  a  willing  soldier,  appropriately  armed  for  his  service. 
An  intoxicated  man  would  be  ill  fitted  to  take  care  of  him- 
self if  exposed  to  the  attacks  of  subtle,  powerful  beasts  of 
prey;  and  he  is  certainly  not  better  fitted  to  guard  himself 
against  that  crafty  and  active,  strong  and  cruel  spiritual 
enemy,  who  is  here  represented  as  prowling  about  like  a 
roaring  lion.  AVhile  this  is  undoubtedly  true  and  highly 
important,  as  the  corresponding  term  "  be  vigilant,"  that 
is,  W'akeful,  is  plainly  to  be  understood  in  a  figurative 
sense,  we  apprehend  the  expression  before  us  must  also  be 
interpreted  figuratively;  an  interpretation  which  substan- 
tially includes  the  literal  meaning,  while  it  includes  much 
more. 

"Things  seen  and  temporal,"  the  pleasures,  the  riches, 
the  honours  of  this  world,  are  apt  to  intoxicate  the  mind. 
Men  under  their  supreme  influence  are  regulated  more  by 
imagination  and  appetite  than  by  conscience  and  reason. 
What  is  present  and  sensible  occupies  the  whole  mind. 
What  is  unseen  and  future  is  overlooked  and  forgotten, 
and  treated  as  if  it  had  no  existence.  Time  is  everything, 
eternity  is  nothing.  This  is  mental  intoxication  ;  and 
sobriety,  in  opposition  to  this,  is  just  the  sound  estimate 


PART  II.]  DUTY  IN  REFERENCE  TO  HIM.  357 

which  enh'ghtened  conscience  and  reason  form  of  the  com- 
parative value  of  things  seen  and  unseen,  things  temporal 
and  eternal,  with  a  habitual  state  of  feeling  and  action 
corresponding  to  this  estimate. 

He  is  sober  who  reckons  that  the  ever-enduring  holy 
happiness,  which  can  be  found  only  in  possessing  the  favour 
and  beino;  conformed  to  the  imao;e  of  God,  is  of  more  true 
value  to  man  than  all  else  which  the  created  universe  con- 
tains ;  that  the  certainty  of  attaining  the  greatest  earthly 
good  is  too  dearly  purchased  by  the  slightest  hazard  of 
losing  this  happiness ;  that  no  sacrifice,  no  suffering,  is  to 
be  much  counted  on  if  necessary  in  order  to  its  attainment; 
and  that  what  has  no  tendency  to  secure  this,  cannot  be  a 
matter  of  very  much  importance  to  a  being  like  man.  Such 
a  man  shows  a  mind  free  from  intoxication.  He  judges  of 
things  as  they  really  are.  His  maxims  are  obviously  the 
words  of  truth  and  soberness.  God  is  more  excellent  than 
the  creature.  The  soul  is  more  valuable  than  the  body. 
Heaven  is  better  than  earth,  far  better  than  hell.  Time  is 
shorter  than  eternity. 

The  man  who  is  thus  sober  is  prepared  for  resisting  the 
devil  in  both  the  ways  illustrated  above.  The  devil  is  "  the 
god  of  this  world,"  and  all  his  power  is  derived  from  it.  The 
sum  of  what  he  has  to  say  in  the  way  of  temptation  is,  '■  All 
earthly  good  is  delivered  to  me,  and  to  whomsoever  I  will 
I  give  it.  All  earthly  evil  is  in  my  power,  and  on  whom- 
soever I  will  I  inflict  it.'  It  is  by  the  hope  of  worldly 
good,  or  the  fear  of  worldly  evil,  that  he  prevails  on  men 
to  neglect  duty  and  to  commit  sin.  But  the  truly  sober 
man  has  his  spiritual  senses  too  well  exercised  to  believe 
either  the  implied  or  the  express  falsehood.  He  knows 
that  God  has  not  relinquished  the  government  of  the 
world,  or  so  committed  it  into  the  hands  of  his  great  enemy, 
as  that  he  has  the  disposal  either  of  the  good  or  the  evil  of 


358  THE  CHRISTIAN'S  GREAT  ENEMY.        [DISC.  XXIII. 

life ;  and  though  it  were  otherwise,  he  knows  that  there  is 
a  more  valuable  good  which  compliance  with  his  sugges- 
tions would  forfeit — a  more  dreadful  evil  to  whicli  com- 
pliance with  his  suggestions  would  expose  him.  So  far  as 
he  is  influenced  by  this  sober  judgment,  he  "keeps  him- 
self, and  the  wicked  one  toucheth  him  not."  And  the 
same  sober  judgments  of  the  value  of  the  soul,  and  of 
the  importance  of  eternity,  naturally  lead  to  strenuous 
persevering  exertions  to  resist  the  devil  in  his  attempts 
to  introduce  error  and  superstition  into  the  Church,  and 
to  perpetuate  ignorance,  idolatry,  and  wickedness  in  the 
world. 

§  2.  He  must  he  vigilant. 

But  that  Christians  may  effectually  resist  their  adversary 
the  devil,  the  apostle  calls  on  them  to  be  not  only  sober, 
but  "vigilant."^  The  literal  meaning  of  the  word  is  in 
opposition  to  falling  asleep,  to  keep  awake  as  shepherds  do 
when  watching  their  sheep  by  night,  or  sentinels  when 
keeping  watch  on  the  walls  of  a  city ;  it  indicates  a  state  of 
watchfulness  in  opposition  to  a  state  of  sleep  or  drowsiness. 
Some  would  interpret  the  words  literally ;  and  it  is  on  this 
ground,  among  others,  that  Koman  Catholics  prescribe 
watching  as  well  as  fasting  as  a  means  of  spiritual  advan- 
tage, and  of  successfully  resisting  our  ghostly  adversai'ies. 

There  can  be  no  reasonable  doubt,  however,  that  here, 
and  wherever  else  in  the  New  Testament  watching  is  pre- 
scribed as  a  general  Christian  duty,  the  word  is  used 
figuratively.  A  state  of  security,  inattention,  and  inacti- 
vity, is  naturally  emblematized  by  a  state  of  sleep ;  and  a 
state  of  consciousness  of  existing  hazards,  attention  to  them, 

1  ' '  Our  adversary,  tlie  devil,  goes  about  day  and  niglit ;  therefore,  by 
day  m'-i^ars,  be  sober,  and  by  niglit  ypnyop'/ia-xTi,  be  watcliful." — Bishop 
Jebp. 


PART  II.]  DUTY  IN  REFERENCE  TO  HIM.  359 

and  active  employment  of  the  means  to  escape  them,  by  a 
state  of  watching  or  wakefulness. 

To  be  watchful,  with  a  reference  to  the  resistance  of  the 
evil  one,  implies  that  the  individual  is  aware  of  the  exist- 
ence and  reality  of  the  hazards  to  which,  from  malignant 
spiritual  influence,  his  highest  interests  are  exposed ;  that 
he  is  on  the  alert  to  notice  all  the  movements  of  the  subtle, 
active,  cruel,  and  powerful  foe  ;  and  that,  not  ignorant  of 
or  inattentive  to  his  devices,  he  looks  around  him,  walks 
circumspectly,  aware  that  in  any  quarter  the  enemy  may 
make  his  appearance ;  and  that  he  so  disguises  himself 
and  varies  his  form,  that  it  requires  spiritual  sagacity  in 
its  most  awakened  state  to  detect  him ;  and  finally,  that 
when  he  does  discover  him  ready  to  deceive  or  to  devour, 
to  delude  or  destroy,  he  is  ready,  broad  awake,  in  full 
possession  of  his  spiritual  faculties,  prepared  to  employ  the 
proper  means  for  counter-working  him  and  disappointing 
his  nefarious  purposes. 

It  is  not  enough  that  a  man  be  sober,  that  is,  not  in- 
toxicated, round  whom  a  powerful  crafty  beast  of  prey  is 
prowling.  He  must  be  wakeful.  However  sober,  if  he 
fall  asleep,  he  is  in  imminent  hazard  of  being  dangerously 
wounded,  if  not  devoured.  Indeed,  he  is  not  acting  like  a 
sober  man,  if  in  these  circumstances  he  allows  himself  to 
fall  asleep.  In  like  manner,  the  Christian  must  not  only 
have  a  just  estimate  of  the  transcendent  importance  of 
things  unseen  and  eternal,  but  his  spiritual  senses  must  be 
habitually  exercised ;  the  eyes  of  his  mind  "  must  look 
right  on,  and  his  eyelids  look  straight  before  him."  He 
must  "  ponder  the  path  of  his  feet,"  and  especially  "  keep 
his  heart  with  all  diligence  ;  for  out  of  it  are  the  issues  of 
life."^  He  must,  like  a  watchful  sentinel,  take  good  heed 
that  through  none  of  the  external  senses — the  gates,  as 
1  Prov.  iv.  23,  25,  26. 


360  THE  CHRISTIAN'S  GREAT  ENEMY.       [DISC.  XXIII. 

Bunyan  represents  them,  of  the  good  town  Mansoul — the 
great  adversary,  under  any  disguise,  find  his  way  to  the 
citadel  of  the  heart.  He  must  be  watchful,  for  his  enemy 
is  so. 

The  influence  which  this  vigilance  is  calculated  to  exert 
on  the  resistance  of  the  wicked  one  in  his  attack  both  on  us 
as  individuals  and  on  the  cause  of  Christ,  is  so  obvious,  that 
I  may  safely  leave  you  to  follow  out  this  train  of  thought 
in  your  private  meditations. 

§  3.  He  must  he  steJfast  in  the  faith. 

The  third  and  principal  means  by  which  Christians  are 
to  be  enabled  to  resist  the  great  adversary,  is  the  being 
"  stedfast  in  the  faith."  We  call  that  the  principal  means  ; 
for  it  is  as  necessary  to  the  right  use  of  tlie  other  means  as 
to  the  gaining  of  the  common  end, — as  necessary  to  the 
being  "sober  and  vigilant,"  as  to  "the  resisting  of  the 
devil." 

The  apostle  takes  for  granted  that  the  persons  whom  he 
addressed  were  "believers."  They  were  "in  the  faith  ;" 
and  he  calls  on  them  to  be  "  stedfast  in  the  faith."  Had 
he  been  speaking  to  unconverted  men,  the  first  thing  he 
w^ould  have  called  on  them  to  do,  would  have  been  to  be- 
lieve ;  for,  till  they  believed,  they  could  neither  see  tlieir 
danger,  nor  use  the  means  which  were  necessary  for  their 
safety.  They  to  whom  he  writes  had  believed  the  truth 
respecting  their  natural  condition  as  the  wilHng  helpless 
slaves  of  the  wicked  one,  bound  in  the  fetters  of  guilt  and 
the  cords  of  depravity.  They  had  believed  the  truth  re- 
specting Jesus  the  great  deliverer,  who  by  the  blood  of  his 
covenant  had  made  provision  for  the  deliverance  of  the 
"  prisoners  out  of  the  pit  in  which  there  was  no  water ;" 
who  "  proclaims  liberty  to  the  captive,  and  the  opening  of 
the  prison  to  them  who  are  bound ;"  who  takes  the  prey 


PART  II,]  DUTY  IN  REFERENCE  TO  HIM.  361 

from  the  mighty,  and  delivers  the  cajative  of  the  terrible 
one.  They  had  believed  that  those  who  refuse  to  be  re- 
leased by  him,  must,  along  with  their  enslaver,  be  shut  up 
under  everlasting  chains  in  the  prison  of  hell,  and  that  they 
who  accept  of  the  freely  offered  deliverance  shall,  under 
the  protection  and  guidance  of  their  redeeming  Lord,  be 
preserved,  amid  all  the  attempts  of  their  former  oppressors 
to  bring  them  again  into  slavery,  and  ultimately  placed 
by  him  in  circumstances  of  perfect  holy  happiness,  while 
Satan  shall  be  for  ever  bruised  under  their  feet. 

It  is  the  belief  of  these  things  that  has  sobered  their 
minds,  and  roused  them  to  spiritual  vigilance.  This  has 
wakened  them,  and  it  is  this  only  that  can  keep  them 
awake  ;  and  for  this  purpose  they  must  be  "  stedfast  in 
the  faith."    They  must  hold  fast  the  tmith  as  it  is  in  Jesus. 

It  is  not  enough  that  they  have  believed  ;  they  must 
continue  believing.  The  truth  and  its  evidence  must  be 
habitually  before  their  minds.  Everything  depends  on 
that.  They  are  safe  "if  they  keep  in  memory  what  has 
been  preached  to  them  ;"  not  otherwise.  The  truth  works 
effectually  towards  the  resistance  of  the  wicked  one,  but 
only  in  him  who  believes  it,  and  only  in  the  degree  in 
which  he  believes  it.  It  is  faith  that  makes  the  Christian 
strong  for  combat.  Let  him  lose  sight  of  the  truth  and 
its  evidence,  and,  like  Samson  shorn  of  his  locks,  he  is 
weak  as  another  man.  Whenever  he  staggers  through 
unbelief,  he  becomes  powerless  in  resisting  the  great  ad- 
versary. It  is  he  only  who  puts  on  "the  whole  armour 
of  God"  that  can  "stand  in  the  evil  day;"  but  it  is  the 
believer  alone  who  can  put  on  and  wear  and  wield  that 
armour.  It  is  the  girdle  of  truth  believed  that  can  alone 
gird  up  the  loins  of  the  mind.  The  breastplate  is  the 
righteousness  which  is  of  God  by  faith.  The  well-roughed 
shoes,  of  the  preparation  of  the  gospel  of  peace,  which  are 


362  THE  CHRISTIAN'S  GREAT  ENEMY.        [DISC.  XXIII. 

necessary  to  enable  the  spiritual  soldier  to  stand  firm  in 
the  slippery  field  of  temptation,  can  be  worn  only  by  them 
who  believe  that  gospel.  The  shield,  which  enables  him 
to  "  quench  all  the  fiery  darts  of  the  wicked  one,"  is  the 
shield  of  faith.  The  hope,  which  is  "  the  helmet  of  salva- 
tion," can  grace  no  brow  but  the  brow  of  the  believer,  for 
hope  rests  on  faith ;  "  the  sword  of  the  Spirit,  which  is  the 
word  of  God,"  can  be  wielded  only  by  the  arm  of  the  be- 
liever ;  and  the  prayer  which  is  necessary  to  secure  the 
right  and  the  effectual  use  of  all  those  pieces  of  spiritual 
armour,  is  the  prayer  of  faith. 

Had  our  first  parents  been  stedfast  in  faith,  they  had 
never  fallen.  They  became  the  prey  of  unbelief  in  the 
shape  of  doubt,  before  they  became  the  victims  of  the 
devil.  God  said,  "  Ye  shall  surely  die ;"  they  doubted  him. 
The  devil  said,  "Ye  shall  not  surely  die;"  they  believed 
him,  and  then  were  befooled  and  enslaved  by  him.  It 
was  by  being  stedfast  in  faith  that  the  great  Captain  of 
our  salvation  successfully  resisted  the  wicked  one,  and 
blunted  all  his  fiery  darts.  To  them  all  he  presented  the 
shield  of  faith  in  a  specific  divine  declaration,  and  the  most 
envenomed  of  them  fell  harmless  at  his  feet.  By  faith 
all  the  elders  who  have  "  received  a  good  report "  turned 
to  flight  the  alien  armies  of  their  infernal  as  well  as  mortal 
enemies ;  and  still  is  it  true,  and  it  will  continue  true  till 
the  last  spiritual  conflict  has  taken  place  on  earth,  "  This 
is  the  victory  that  overcometh  the  world,"  and  the  god  of 
the  world,  "  even  our  faith."  ^  Here,  as  in  the  former  case, 
I  leave  it  to  yourselves  to  follow  out  more  fully  the  manner 
in  which  stedfast  faith  operates  in  enabling  Christians  to 
resist  the  adversary  in  his  attacks  on  themselves  individually, 
and  on  the  great  cause  of  their  Lord  and  King. 
1  1  Joliu  V.  4. 


PART  III.]  ENCOURAGEMENT.  363 

III.    THE  christian's  ENCOURAGEMENT  TO  PERFORM  HIS 
DUTY  IN  REFERENCE  TO  HIS  GREAT  ENEMY. 

It  only  remains  that  we  briefly  attend  to  the  encourage- 
ment which  the  Christian  has  amid  the  sufferings  in  which 
his  struggles  with  his  spiritual  enemies  may  involve  him. 
That  encouragement  is  derived  from  two  sources — an  un- 
doubted fact  and  a  faithful  promise  :  an  undoubted  fact — 
the  same  struggle  has  been  sustained  and  surmounted  by 
all  the  brotherhood  ;  and  a  faithful  promise — "  The  God  of 
all  grace,  who  hath  called  them  unto  his  eternal  glory  by 
Christ  Jesus,  after  they  have  suffered  a  while,  will  make 
them  perfect,  stablish,  strengthen,  settle  them."  Let  us 
attend  to  these  encouragements  in  their  order. 


CHAP.  I.  THE  ENCOURAGING  FACT  :  ALL  THE  BROTHER- 
HOOD HAVE  SUSTAINED  AND  SURMOUNTED  THIS 
STRUGGLE. 

And  first,  let  us  consider  the  encouraging  fact.  "  Know- 
ing this,"  says  the  apostle,  "  that  the  same  afflictions  are 
accomplished  in  your  brethren  who  are  in  the  world."  It 
has  been  questioned  whether  the  sufferings  here  spoken  of 
refer  to  the  inward  sufferings  occasioned  by  the  temptations 
of  the  wicked  one,  or  to  the  outward  sufferings,  the  perse- 
cutions which  spring  out  of  the  influence  of  the  wicked  one 
on  the  minds  of  his  slaves  and  their  enemies.  I  do  not 
think  that  it  is  necessary,  or  even  proper,  to  confine  it  to 
either.  It  refers  to  sufferings  growing  out  of  the  machina- 
tions and  agency  of  their  great  spiritual  adversary,  of  what- 
ever kind.  The  apostle  states  that  "  the  same  afflictions" — 
afflictions  of  the  same  kind  arising  from  the  same  cause — 
"  were  accomplished  in  their  brethren,"  literally,  '  in  their 
brotherhood,'  "  in  the  world." 


3G4  THE  CHRISTIAN'S  GREAT  ENEMY.        [DISC.  XXIII. 

Some  have  thought  that  these  words  contain  in  them  but 
httle  to  support  under  suffering,  and  have  appHed  the  words 
of  a  heathen  morahst :  "  It  is  but  poor  consolation  that  I 
am  one  of  many  sufferers."  But  if  we  look  at  the  words 
carefully,  we  shall  find  that  they  are  replete  with  encourage- 
ment. 

Sufferers  are  very  apt  to  think  their  case  quite  singular ; 
others  have  been  tried,  but  none  tried  as  they  are ;  and  the 
Apostle  Paul  shows  his  knowledge  of  human  nature  when 
he  says  to  the  Corinthians,  "  There  hath  no  temptation 
taken  you  but  such  as  is  common  to  man."  Your  sufferings 
are  not  peculiar.  It  is  unreasonable  to  complain  of  what  is 
so  common  a  lot.  It  were  pusillanimous  to  sink  under  what 
so  many  are  suffering  and  have  sustained. 

But  the  consolation  here  given  is  of  a  higher  kind  than 
this.  These  sufferings  are  characteristic  of  the  brotherhood 
to  which  you  belong.  Every  member  of  that  brotherhood 
is  a  partaker  of  them.  He  who  is  the  "first-born  of  the 
many  brethren"  experienced  the  temptations  of  the  devil 
and  the  persecutions  of  wicked  men  ;  and  in  their  sufferings 
all  the  younger  branches  of  the  holy  family  have  fellowship 
with  Him.  You  could  not  belong  to  that  brotherhood  if 
you  were  entire  strangers  to  their  afiiictions.^  "  If  ye  were 
of  the  world,  the  world  would  love  its  own,"  and  the  god 
of  this  world  would  not  so  attack  you ;  "  but  because  je 
are  not  of  the  world,  but  chosen  out  of  the  world,"  there- 
fore the  world  and  its  prince  harass  and  abuse  you.  It  is 
one  of  the  family  badges  :  "  If  ye  are  without  such  chas- 
tisements," of  which  all  the  children,  all  the  brotherhood, 
are  partakers,  "  then  are  ye  bastards,  and  not  sons."^ 
Would  you  willingly  part  with  the  characteristic  privileges 

1  "Erras  si  putas,  unquam  Ckristianum  persecutionem  non  i^ati. " — 

HiERONYMUS. 

2  John  XV.  19  ;  Heb.  xii.  8. 


PART  III.J  ENCOURAGEMENT.  365 

of  the  brotherhood,  in  order  to  obtain  exemption  from  their 
characteristic  sufferings  ?  Besides,  as  these  sufferings  are 
common  to  the  brotherhood,  you  may  be  assured  of  that 
cordial  sympathy  which  hghtens  suffering,  and  that  "fervent 
prayer  which  avails  much/' 

Then  there  is  some  peculiarity  in  the  phrase  "  are  accom- 
plished," are  fulfilled.  It  is  not  said  they  are  endured  by, 
but  they  are  accomplished  or  fulfilled  in.  This  peculiar 
mode  of  expression  leads  us  to  think  of  these  sufferings  as 
appointments  which  must  be  fulfilled.  No  chance  has 
happened  to  you.  "  This  hath  come  forth  from  Him  who 
is  wonderful  in  counsel  and  excellent  in  working."  Satan 
and  his  agents  are  but  doing  to  you  as  they  did  to  your 
Lord,  "  what  God's  hand  and  counsel  beforetime  deter- 
mined to  be  done."  These  temptations  and  persecutions 
are  a  part  of  the  manifold  trials  to  which,  for'  a  season,  it  is 
needful  that  you  be  subject ;  for  "  they  who  would  live 
godly  in  this  world  must  suffer  persecution."  Your  Lord 
has  assured  you,  that  "  in  the  world  ye  shall  have  tribula- 
tion ;"  and  his  apostle,  that  "  through  much  tribulation  ye 
must  enter  the  kingdom."  These  are  sufferings  to  which 
ye  are  appointed  and  called.  These  are  sufferings  ap- 
pointed to  every  Chi-istian,  as  a  member  of  the  body  of 
Christ,  and  they  must  be  accomphshed.  They  are  a  part 
of  the  discipline  by  which  the  brotherhood  on  earth  are  to 
be  made  fit  for  joining  the  brotherhood  in  heaven.^ 

And  then,  what  encouragement  and  consolation  is  there 
in  the  thought,  that  these  afflictions,  as  they  must  for  wise 
and  benignant  reasons  be  endured  by  the  whole  brother- 
hood while  they  are  in  the  world,  are  to  be  accomjylished 
here  !  The  brotherhood  who  are  with  their  Father  and 
their  elder  Brother  in  heaven,  are  completely  beyond  the 
reach  of  temptation  and  persecution.  Satan  is  bruised 
1  Isa.  xx\aii.  29  ;  Acts  v.  28,  xiv.  22 ;  John  xvi.  33. 


36G  THE  CHRISTIAN'S  GREAT  ENEMY.       [DISC.  XXIII. 

under  their  feet.  They  are  made  more  than  conquerors. 
The  helmet  has  been  exchanged  for  the  crown  that  fadetli 
not  away ;  the  sword  of  conflict  for  the  palm  of  victory;  and 
the  cry,  "  I  am  oppressed,  undertake  for  me,"  for  the  shout, 
"  Salvation  to  our  God  and  the  Lamb  for  ever  and  ever." 
"  To  him  that  loved  us  and  washed  us  from  our  sins  in  his 
blood,  and  hath  made  us  kings  and  priests  to  God  and  his 
Father,  to  him  be  glory  and  dominion  for  ever  and  ever." 

And  where  they  are,  their  brethren  on  the  earth  will  ere 
long  be.  Is  it  not  meet  that  we  should  endure  with  patience 
and  fortitude  on  earth,  since  such  rest  and  enjoyment  are 
prepared  for  us  in  heaven  ?  The  phrase,  brotherhood  on 
earth,  naturally  leads  the  mind  to  the  brotherhood  in  heaven. 
There  is  to  be  the  permanent  abode  of  the  lohole  brother- 
hood. "  The  gathering  together"  at  the  coming  of  the 
Lord  is  to  be  there.  "  Faithful  is  he  who  hath  promised, 
who  also  will  do  it :"  "  In  my  Father's  house  are  many 
mansions,"  accommodation  for  all  the  brotherhood ;  "  if  it 
had  not  been  so,  I  would  have  told  you.  I  go  to  prepare  a 
place  for  you;  and  if  I  go, ...  I  will  come  again,  and  receive 
you  to  myself,  that  where  I  am  there  ye  may  be  also."^ 
He  became  perfect  through  the  accomplishment  of  his 
sufferings  ;  and  so,  in  a  sense  suited  to  our  case,  must  we 
become  perfect  through  the  accomplishment  of  our  suffer- 
ings. At  the  very  utmost,  we  are  not  to  be  long  in  thd 
world  where  our  afflictions  are  to  be  accomplished,  finished  : 
we  are  to  be  for  ever  in  the  better  world,  where  the  glorious 
results  which  infinite  wisdom  and  kindness  have  wrought 
out  by  these  afflictions,  will  continue  unfolding  themselves  to 
our  growing  astonishment  and  delight  throughout  eternity. 

Thus  are  all  these  afflictions  accomplished  here.  The 
brotherhood  who  have  passed  the  Jordan  of  death,  and 
entered  into  the  heavenly  Canaan,  are  for  ever  secure  from 
1  2  Thess-  ii.  1  ;  John  xiv.  2. 


PART  III.]  ENCOURAGEMENT.  367 

the  attacks  of  the  wild  beasts  that  roam  the  desert  through 
which  we  are  passing,  and  from  all  the  afflictions  which  flow 
from  these  attacks.  The  old  serpent  shall  never  find  his  way 
into  the  restored  paradise ;  and  thither  all  the  brotherhood 
are  tending.  Yet  a  little  while  and  they  shall  all  be  there, 
safe  and  happy  together,  in  their  Father's  house  for  ever. 
This  is  surely  great  encouragement,  abundant  consolation. 

CHAP.  II.    THE  FAITHFUL  PROMISE. 

Let  us  now  turn  our  attention  to  the  still  more  explicit 
encouragement  suggested  by  the  faithful  promise  contained 
in  the  lOtli  verse  ;  for,  on  careful  inspection,  it  will  be 
found  to  be  a  promise.  The  10th  verse  is  very  generally 
considered  as  a  prayer  on  tbe  part  of  the  apostle,  that  Chris- 
tians might,  amid  their  struggles  and  sufferings,  be  "  made 
perfect,  stablished,  strengthened,  settled."  There  can  be 
no  doubt  that  was  his  wish  and  prayer  for  them  ;  but  a 
closer  consideration  of  the  words  convinces  me  that  this 
verse  is  not  a  prayer,  but  a  promise  ;  not  a  request  that  God 
would  confer  certain  most  valuable  and  appropriate  bless- 
ings on  tempted,  struggling,  afflicted  Christians,  but  a  decla- 
ration that  he  will  bestow  them. 

I  think  most  careful  readers  of  the  Bible  must  have  felt 
disappointed,  that  after  so  very  graphic  a  view  had  been 
ffiven  of  the  dangers  and  stru£i;G;les  of  the  Christian,  all  that 
should  have  been  said  for  his  encouragement  and  comfort 
is,  "  The  same  afflictions  are  fulfilled  in  your  brethren  that 
are  in  the  world."  The  rendering  given  by  our  translators 
of  the  10th  verse  is  not  literal ;  indeed,  from  the  text  from 
which  they  translated,  no  strictly  literal  intelligible  version 
could  have  been  given.  By  the  slightest  of  all  changes, 
the  putting  one  vowel  in  the  place  of  another,^ — a  change 
^  £  instead  of  «. 


368  THE  CHRISTIAN'S  GREAT  ENEMY.       [DISC,  XXIII. 

which  the  inquiries  of  critics  have  found  not  only  to  be 
authorized  but  required, — the  original  passage  is  freed  from 
all  difficulty,  and  the  encouragement  administered  to  the 
tempted,  struggling,  afflicted  believer,  is  as  abundant  and 
complete  as  we  could  expect  or  desire  ;  indeed,  "  above  all 
that  we  could  ask  or  think."  Literally  rendered,  the  words 
thus  amended  are,  "  But  the  God  of  all  grace,  who  hath 
called  us"  or  "  you,  unto  his  eternal  glory  ^ by  or  in  Christ 
Jesus,  after  ye  have  suffered  a  while,  shall  make  you  perfect, 
strengthen,  stablish,  settle  you."  It  is  as  if  he  had  said  : 
Such  afflictions,  rising  out  of  the  attacks  of  the  wicked  one, 
must  be  endured  by  you  ;  for  they  are  the  result  of  divine 
appointment, — an  appointment  reaching  to  and  fulfilled  in 
all  your  brotherhood  in  the  world.  But  be  not  discouraged  : 
"  The  God  of  all  grace,  who  has  called  you  unto  his  eternal 
glory  by  Christ  Jesus,  after  ye  have  suffered  a  while,  shall 
make  you  perfect,  stablish,  strengthen,  settle  you."  The 
Christian,  watching  against  the  wiles,  struggling  against  the 
assaults  of  the  lion  of  hell,  and  suffering  under  the  effects 
of  his  attacks,  and  their  resistance,  has  need  of  abundant 
support  and  encouragement  and  consolation,  and  assuredly 
he  has  got  it  here. 

There  is  strong  consolation  in  the  promise  itself.  "  God 
shall  make  you  perfect,  stablish,  strengthen,  settle  you," 
notwithstanding,  nay  by  means  of,  these  very  afflictions. 
And  then,  what  superadded  encouragement  and  comfort  is 
there  in  the  adjuncts  of  the  loromise,  in  the  manner  in  which 
the  promise  is  given  !  For  who  promises  ?  "  The  God  of 
all  grace;"  "the  God  who  has  called  you;"  "the  God 
who  has  called  you  unto  his  eternal  glory  in  Christ  Jesus ;" 
"  the  God  who  has  called  you  to  this  glory  after  ye  have 
suffered  a  while."  Is  there  not  in  every  one  of  these  con- 
siderations a  new  and  most  exuberant  fountain  of  spiritual 

^  'En  XpiirrM  'Itxrou. 


PART  III  ]  ENCOURAGEMENT.  369 

encouragement  and  joy  opened  to  the  Christian  warrior, 
from  which  he  may  draw  most  refreshing  draughts  when 
fatigued  by  his  conflicts  with  his  great  adversary,  "  faint 
yet  pursuing?"  Well  may  he,  hke  the  Captain  of  his 
salvation,  "  drink  of  the  brook  in  the  way,  and  lift  up  the 
head"  for  renewed  conflict  or  untiring  pursuit.  Let  us 
first,  then,  look  at  the  matter  of  the  promise,  and  then  at 
the  manner  in  which  it  is  given. 

§  1.   The  encouragement  contained  in  the  promise  itself. 

Let  us  look  at  the  promise :  "  God  shall  make  you  perfect, 
stablish,  strengthen,  settle  you."  The  general  meaning  of 
the  promise  obviously  is :  God  shall,  notwithstanding,  and 
even  by  means  of  these  afflictions,  promote  your  spiritual 
improvement,  and  add  to  your  real  happiness.  All  the 
figurative  expressions  are  well  fitted,  and,  with  the  excep- 
tion of  one  of  them,^  frequently  employed  in  the  New 
Testament,  to  denote  spiritual  improvement  and  growth  in 
holiness  and  comfort ;  and  it  has  been  supposed  by  many 
interpreters,  that  it  is  to  no  purpose  to  look  for  any  specific 
meaning  in  each  of  these  terms.  They  consider  the  promise 
as  just  a  declaration,  that  through  the  preaching  of  God's 
word,  the  influence  of  his  Spirit,  and  the  overruling  power 
of  his  providence,  these  afflictions  should  work  together  for 
their  good,  in  the  most  extensive  sense  of  the  word,  for 
making  them  really  and,  in  the  end,  completely  holy  and 
happy,  in  entire  conformity  to  the  holy,  holy,  holy,  ever- 
blessed  One.  We  are  disposed  to  think,  however,  that  the 
apostle  seldom  heaps  up  words  merely  for  the  sake  of 
emphasis,  and  that,  in  the  passage  before  us,  every  one  of 
the  figurative  expressions  presents  us  with  a  distinct  phase, 
as  it  were,  of  the  blessings  which  God  bestows  on  his  people, 
under  the  afflictions,  and  by  means  of  the  afflictions,  which 

1  'Shvatni  is  one  of  tlie  aVa^  >.£yo/"£va. 
VOL.  III.  2  A 


B70  THE  CHRISTIAN'S  GREAT  ENEMY.       [DISC.  XXIII. 

are  connected  with  the  assanhs  of  the  great  adversary  on 
them,  and  their  resistance  to  these  assauhs. 

It  has  been  ingeniously  supposed,  that  there  is  but  one 
image  in  the  whole  passage,  and  that  the  different  figurative 
expressions  are  connected  representations  of  its  different 
parts.  Christians  are  supposed  here,  as  in  many  places  of 
the  New  Testament,  to  be  represented  as  "  God's  building," 
"  a  holy  temple,"  ^  and  the  whole  of  their  Christian  im- 
provement is  termed  their  "  edification"  or  building  up. 
They  are  "  settled,"  or  the  foundation  is  laid ;  then  they 
are  "  strengthened,"  strong  beams  are  fixed  and  massy 
pillars  raised ;  then  they  are  "  stablished,"  the  building  is 
roofed  and  protected  from  the  injuries  of  the  weather ; 
and  finally,  they  are  "  perfected."  Everything  within  and 
without  is  so  fashioned,  as  to  become  a  meet  habitation  for 
God  through  the  Spirit.  There  is  ingenuity  enough  here ; 
but  it  is  plain,  if  that  had  been  the  apostle's  figure,  the 
order  of  the  expressions  would  have  been  reversed.  The 
four  expressions  seem  plainly  to  bring  four  distinct  and 
unconnected  figurative  representations  before  the  mind. 
Let  us  endeavour  to  ascertain  their  precise  meaning. 

(1.)   They  shall  he  made  perfect. 

God  promises,  first,  that  he  will  "make"  Christians 
struggling  with  their  great  adversary  "  perfect."  The 
word  translated  "make  perfect"  properly  signifies  to  make 
fully  ready,  to  put  in  full  order,  to  complete.  It  is  used  of 
fitting  nets  by  mending  them  for  being  employed,  and  of 
the  wickedness  of  the  wicked  fitting  them  as  "vessels  of 
wrath  "  for  being  destroyed.^  This  is  its  meaning,  when  the 
apostle  prays  "  the  God  of  peace,  who  brought  again  from 
the  dead  our  Lord  Jesus,  that  great  Shepherd  of  the  sheep, 

1  1  Cor.  iii.  9 ;  Eph.  ii.  21,  22 ;  1  Pet.  ii.  5. 

2  Matt.  iv.  21 ;  Eom.  ix.  22. 


PART  III.]  ENCOURAGEMENT.  371 

by  the  blood  of  the  everlasting  covenant,"  to  make  Christians 
"  perfect  in  every  good  work  to  do  his  will,"  ^ — that  is,  to  fit 
them,  by  supplying  what  was  wanting  in  them,  for  doing 
God's  will  in  the  performance  of  every  good  work ;  and 
when  the  Messiah,  our  Pligh  Priest,  who  must  have  some- 
what to  offer,  is  introduced  as  saying,  "  A  body  hast  thou 
prepared  (the  same  word  as  here)  me,"  made  ready  for, 
fitted  for  me ;  and  when  the  worlds  are  said  to  be  "  framed 
(the  same  word)  by  the  word  of  God,"  prepared,  fitted  for 
the  purpose  they  were  meant  to  serve/'  In  the  passage 
before  us,  viewed  as  a  promise  to  those  who  were  called  to 
conflict  with  an  adversary,  with  whom  in  themselves  they 
were  very  ill  able  to  cope  (and  such  general  words  must 
almost  always  be  modified  in  their  meaning  and  limited 
in  their  reference  by  the  context),  its  meaning  plainly  is : 
God  will,  by  supplying  all  your  defects,  fit  you  for  the 
conflict  to  which  you  are  called.  He  will  by  his  word  and 
Spirit  qualify  you  for  all  that  you  shall  be  called  on  to  do 
and  suffer  in  the  combat.  His  grace  shall  be  sufficient  for 
you.  He  does  not  send  you  unarmed  to  the  field  of  combat. 
He  gives  you  the  whole  armour  of  God,^  "  that  ye  may  be 
able  to  stand  against  the  wiles  of  the  devil."  He  gives  you 
the  girdle  of  truth,  the  breastplate  of  righteousness,  the 
sandals  of  the  preparation  of  the  gospel  of  peace,  the  helmet 
of  salvation,  and  the  sword  of  the  Spirit,  which  is  the  word 
of  God ;  and  he  not  only  lays  them  down  before  you,  but 
by  his  Spirit  he  enables  you  to  put  them  on,  and  teaches 
you  so  to  prove  the  various  parts  of  this  celestial  panoply, 
as  that  in  the  day  of  battle  you  may  turn  them  to  good 
account  in  the  combat  with  the  alien  and  his  armies.  He  will 
give  you  all  the  wisdom,  all  the  courage,  and  all  the  energy 
that  are  necessary  for  successful  conflict.  This  promise  seems 
addressed  to  the  Christian  looking  forward  to  the  combat. 
1  Heb.  xiii.  21.  2  Heb.  x.  5,  xi.  3.  ^  Epb.  vi.  13-18. 


372  THE  CHRISTIAN'S  GREAT  ENEMY.       [DISC.  XXIII. 

The  succeeding  ones  seem  to  refer  to  liim  when  engaged 
in  it. 

(2.)   They  shall  he  established. 

The  second  promise  is,  that  God  will  "  stablish"  them. 
To  stablish  is  to  keep  firm  and  stedfast.  The  Christian  is 
afraid  that  he  shall  fall  before  his  enemies, — that  he  shall 
not  be  able  to  keep  his  ground, — that  he  shall  lose  courage, 
— that  he  shall  be  turned  back,  with  shame  to  himself  and 
disgrace  to  his  Lord  and  his  cause, — that  he  shall  prove  an 
apostate, — that  he  shall  not  be  able  to  hold  fast  the  faith 
and  its  profession, — that  he  shall  find  it  difficult  to  stand,  far 
more  to  withstand, — that  he  shall  make  "  shipwreck  of  faith 
and  a  good  conscience,"  and,  instead  of  being  crowned  as  a 
victor,  shall  be  put  to  shame  as  a  recreant  and  castaway ; 
but  God  meets  these  not  unnatural  apprehensions  with  the 
promise — I  will  stablish  thee,  I  will  keep  thee  from  falling. 
The  promise  in  the  Second  Epistle  to  the  Thessalonians 
(iii.  3)  seems  quite  parallel  with  this  :  "  The  Lord  is  faithful 
who  shall  stablish  you,  and  preserve  you  from  evil,"  rather 
from  the  evil  one.^  It  is  just  the  evangelical  version  of  the 
Old  Testament  oracle :  "  Fear  thou  not ;  for  I  am  with  thee  : 
be  not  dismayed ;  for  I  am  thy  God :....!  will  help  thee  ; 
yea,  I  will  uphold  thee  with  the  right  hand  of  my  righteous- 
ness." He  will  "  put  his  law  into  their  hearts ;"  and  then, 
notwithstanding  all  the  attempts  of  their  spiritual  enemies, 
"  they  shall  not  depart  from  him."^ 

(3.)   They  shall  he  strengthened. 

The  third  promise  is,  God  will  "  strengthen"  you.  In 
the  day  of  spiritual  conflict  he  will  enable  them  not  only  to 
stand,  but  to  withstand ;  not  only  to  keep  their  ground,  but 
to  press  forward ;  not  merely  to  defend  themselves,  but  to 

1  Tou  vov'/ipoZ.  2  Jsa.  xli.  10  ;  Jer.  xxxii.  40. 


PART  III.]  ENCOURAGEMENT.  373  ' 

attack  their  enemies.  "  Out  of  weakness  tliey  shall"  so 
"  wax  strong,"  as  to  "  turn  to  flight  the  armies  of  the  aliens." 
He  will,  by  the  effectual  operation  of  his  Spirit,  through 
the  instrumentality  of  his  word,  render  the  very  efforts  of 
their  enemies  to  subdue  them  the  means  of  calling  forth 
into  action  a  power  of  which  they  themselves  were  before 
unconscious,  so  as  to  compel  them  to  say,  with  a  new  feel- 
ing of  the  depth  of  truth  contained  in  the  words,  "  When  I 
am  weak,  then  I  am  strong."  Thus  does  "  he  give  power 
to  the  faint,  and  to  them  who  have  no  might  he  increaseth 
strength  ;"  so  that,  though  "  even  the  youths  faint  and  be 
weary,  and  the  young  men  utterly  fall,"  they,  "  waiting  on 
the  Lord,  renew  their  strength ;  they  mount  up  with  wings 
as  eagles ;  run,  and  are  not  weary  ;  and  they  walk,  and  are 
not  faint."  ^  Thus  it  is,  that  amid  the  infirmities  of  his 
people  "  the  power  of  Christ  rests  on  them."  They  are 
made  "strong  in  the  Lord  and  in  the  power  of  his  might;" 
and  they  "  go  in  the  strength  of  the  Lord  God,  making 
mention  of  his  righteousness,  even  of  His  only."  "  In  the 
Lord,  in  whom  they  have  righteousness,  they  also  have 
strength." 

(4.)   They  shall  he  settled. 

The  fourth  and  last  promise  is,  "  God  will  settle  you." 
The  word  rendered  "  settle"  is  equivalent  to  make  to  rest 
securely,  as  a  building  on  its  foundations.  The  idea  is, 
The  design  of  these  attacks  of  Satan  is  to  drive  you  from 
the  foundation,  Jesus,  and  the  truth  as  it  is  in  Jesus ;  but 
God  will  render  all  these  attempts  ineffectual  by  his  pre- 
paring you  for  them,  stablishing  you,  and  strengthening 
you  under  them,  and,  by  enabling  you  to  stand  and  with- 
stand, he  will  make  them  the  means  of  fixing  you  firmer  on 
that  foundation  than  ever.  Such  afllictions,  instead  of  pro- 
1  Isa.  xl.  29-31. 


374  THE  CHRISTIAN'S  GREAT  ENEMY.       [DISC.  XXIII. 

ducing  apostasy,  produce  perseverance.  "  We  glory  in 
tribulation,"  that  is,  suffering  in  the  cause  of  Christ,  pro- 
duced by  the  influence  of  the  adversary, — "  knowing  that 
tribulation  worketh  patience,"  that  is,  perseverance,  increased 
attachment  to  the  Saviour  and  his  cause.  Satan  desires  to 
have  Christians  that  he  may  sift  them,  and  scatter  them  to 
the  winds  of  heaven ;  but  through  the  grace  of  the  Father 
and  the  prayers  of  the  Son  their  faith  fails  not,  and  to  their 
own  increased  comfort  and  confirmed  hope,  by  this  very 
sifting  they  are  proved  to  be  not  chaff,  but  the  Lord's  wheat, 
which  is  to  be  "  gathered  into  his  garner,  while  the  chaff  is 
burned  with  fire  unquenchable."  These  afflictions  both 
prove  the  soundness  of  the  foundation,  leading  the  Chris- 
tian more  narrowly  to  examine  it,  and  prove,  too,  that  he 
is  really  built  on  the  foundation.  The  Christian  who  is 
enabled  to  triumph  over  temptation  is  stronger  than  if  he 
had  never  been  tempted  ;  and  there  is  no  such  firm  believer 
as  he  who  has  battled  with  and  fairly  overcome,  through 
Him  who  loves  him,  all  the  doubts  which  the  father  of  lies, 
and  that  most  skilful  sophister,  the  evil  heart  of  unbelief 
under  his  influence,  can  suggest  to  the  mind.  This  is  the 
great  object  of  God,  to  settle  his  people  on  the  foundation, 
the  rock,  Christ.  "  This,"  to  borrow  some  of  the  beautiful 
thoughts  of  Leighton,  "  is  the  only  thing  that  perfects  and 
strengthens  us.  There  is  a  wretched  natural  independ- 
ency in  us.  We  are  apt  to  rest  on  something  in  ourselves. 
When  we  do  so,  we  build  castles  in  the  air,  imagining  build- 
ings without  a  foundation.  A  battle  with  our  spiritual 
enemies  will  show  us  there  is  no  safe  footing  there.  If  we 
do  not  seek  firmer  ground,  we  shall  assuredly  fall.  Never 
shall  we  find  safety,  heart-peace,  and  progress  in  holiness, 
till  we  are  driven  from  everything  in  ourselves,  to  make  him 
all  our  strength,  '  our  rock,  our  fortress,  our  buckler,  the 
horn  of  our  salvation,  and  our  high  tower,' — to  do  nothing, 


PART  III.]  ENCOURAGEMENT.  375 

to  attempt  nothing,  to  hope  for  nothing,  but  in  him.  ,  Then 
shall  we  find  his  fulness  and  all-sufficiency,  and  be  '  more 
than  conquerors  through  him  who  hath  loved  us.'  Few 
things  in  Christian  experience  are  more  employed  by  God 
to  bring  his  people  into  this  state  of  settledness  on  the  rock 
Christ  than  the  afflictions  rising  out  of  the  assaults  of  the 
evil  one,  and  that  resistance  to  these  assaults  which  are 
accomplished  in  the  whole  Christian  brotherhood  in  the 
world.  Thus  can  God  bring  good  out  of  evil ;  strengthen 
faith  by  what  was  meant  to  overthrow  it;  increase  the 
holiness  and  comfort  of  his  people  by  what  was  meant  to 
involve  them  in  guilt  and  depravity  and  misery ;  make 
the  wrath  of  devils  as  well  as  men  to  praise  him,  while  he 
restrains  the  remainder  thereof.  '  He  shall  deliver  them 
out  of  the  mouth  of  the  lion;'  ay,  'he  shall  deliver  them 
from  every  evil  work,'  every  mischievous  device,  every 
malignant  attempt  of  their  adversary  or  his  agents,  earthly 
or  infernal,  '  and  preserve  them  unto  his  heavenly  king- 
dom.'" 

Such  appears  to  be  the  import  of  the  promise  ;  such  seems 
to  be  the  perfecting,  stablishing,  strengthening,  settling, 
of  which  the  apostle  speaks.  To  use  the  words  of  the  pious 
and  learned  Bengel,  "  He  shall  perfect  (that  no  defect  may 
remain  in  you),  he  shall  stablish  (that  ye  may  be  guilty  of 
no  backsliding),  he  shall  strengthen  (that  ye  may  overcome 
every  adverse  power),  and  thus  he  shall  settle  you:"  estab- 
lish you  more  firmly  than  ever  on  the  foundation,  by  those 
very  means  which  were  intended  to  remove  you  from  it, 
and  to  convert  into  an  unsightly  heap  of  ruins  all  the  holy 
dispositions  and  all  the  glorious  hopes  which,  like  a  stately 
edifice,  "  polished  after  the  similitude  of  a  palace,"  rested 
on  that  foundation. 


376  THE  CHRISTIAN'S  GREAT  ENEMY.       [DISC.  XXIII. 

(5.)  He  lolio  does  all  this  for  them  is  God. 

This  perfecting,  and  stablishing,  and  strengthening,  and 
settling,  are  just  wliat  the  Christian  needs  when  called  to 
combat,  "  not  with  flesh  and  blood,  but  with  the  rulers  of 
the  darkness  of  this  world,  with  spiritual  wickedness  in  high 
places  ;"  and  the  assurance  of  obtaining  it  is  well  fitted  to 
encourage  and  comfort  him.  But  to  realize  this  encourage- 
ment and  consolation,  he  must  "  know  and  be  sure "  who 
it  is  that  hath  promised  thus  to  perfect,  and  stablish,  and 
strengthen,  and  settle.  Such  a  promise  from  the  most 
accomplished  of  men,  from  the  highest  of  angels,  from  all 
good  men  and  all  good  angels  together,  would  sound  like 
bitter  mockery;  but  it  is  God  who,  by  the  mouth  of  his 
holy  apostle,  declares  that  he  will  perfect  and  stablish, 
strengthen  and  settle,  the  Christian  combating  with  his 
subtle,  active,  cruel,  and  j)owerful  spiritual  adversary.  And 
deeply  as  he  feels  how  much  is  wanting  in  him  for  the  con- 
flict ;  how  ready,  how  sure,  if  left  to  himself,  to  turn  back 
in  the  day  of  battle ;  how  powerless  he  is  in  the  grasp  of  the 
strong  man,  the  terrible  one ;  how  much  in  danger,  so  far 
as  depends  on  anything  in  himself,  of  being  permanently 
moved  from  his  stedfastness,  and  torn  from  that  rock  of 
salvation  on  which  the  whole  fabric  of  his  holiness  and 
spiritual  enjoyment  and  hopes  rests :  this  is  enough  to  sus- 
tain and  encourage  him. 

He  can  do  all  that  he  has  here  promised.  He  is  infinite 
in  power;  and  infinite,  too,  in  wisdom.  No  enemy  so 
powerful  but  he  can  restrain  and  subdue  him ;  no  enemy 
so  crafty  but  he  can  circumvent  and  disappoint  him.  No 
Christian  so  weak  but  he  can  make  him  strong ;  no  Chris- 
tian so  foolish  but  he  can  make  him  wise.  Is  anything  too 
hard  for  the  Lord?  To  the  Christian  struggling  with  his 
spiritual   foes,  with   a  heart  failing  for  fear  and  an  arm 


PART  III.]  ENCOURAGEMENT.  377 

falling  down  with  weariness,  is  addressed  the  words  of  the 
prophet :  "  Why  sayest  thou,  O  Jacob,  and  speakest,  O 
Israel,  My  way  is  hid  from  the  Lord,  and  my  judgment  is 
passed  over  from  my  God?  Hast  thou  not  known,  hast 
thou  not  heard,  that  the  everlasting  God,  the  Lord,  the 
Creator  of  the  ends  of  the  earth,  faintetli  not,  neither  is 
weary  ?  there  is  no  searching  of  his  understanding."  ^  There 
is  no  situation  in  which,  in  resisting  your  adversary,  you 
can  be  placed,  however  full  of  painful  exertion,  anxiety, 
and  suffering,  in  which  he  cannot  give  support,  from  which 
he  cannot  give  deliverance. 

Then  he  is  disposed  to  do  all  that  he  has  promised.  He 
is  "rich  in  mercy;"  he  is  "ready  to  forgive."  The  love 
that  dictated  the  promise  secures  the  accomplishment.  "  If 
ye,  being  evil,  know  how  to  give  good  gifts  to  your  chil- 
dren, how  much  more  shall  your  Father  in  heaven  " — who  is 
not  evil,  who  is  good,  only  good,  good  continually,  infinitely 
benignant,  whose  nature  as  well  as  name  is  love, — how  much 
more  shall  he  "give  good  gifts  to  his  children"  when  they 
ask  them  ?  But  this  truth,  so  richly  fraught  with  encou- 
ragement, will  come  more  fully  before  us  when  we  come  to 
speak  of  the  adjuncts  of  the  promise,  or  of  the  manner  in 
which  it  is  given. 

Finally,  here,  he  who  gives  the  promise  will  most  assur- 
edly perform  it.  He  can  do  it;  for  he  is  infinitely  power- 
ful and  wise  :  he  is  disposed  to  do  it ;  for  he  is  infinitely 
kind  and  compassionate :  he  will  do  it ;  for  he  is  inviolably 
faithful.  He  can  do  all  things,  but  he  cannot  lie.  Nothing 
is  impossible  with  him  but  the  denying  himself.  "  He  is 
not  a  man,  that  he  should  lie ;  neither  the  son  of  man,  that 
he  should  repent :  hath  he  said,  and  shall  he  not  do  it  ? 
hath  he  spoken,  and  shall  he  not  make  it  good?"  No: 
"heaven  and  earth  shall  pass  away;"  we  know  they  shall 
1  Isa.  xl.  27,  28. 


378  THE  CHRISTIAN'S  GREAT  ENEMY.       [DISC.  XXITI. 

pass  away ;  "  bat  one  iota,  one  tittle"  of  his  declarations, 
"shall  not  pass  till  all  be  fulfilled."^  As  certainly  as  God 
is  powerful  and  wise,  merciful  and  faithful,  so  certain  is  it 
that  he  will  not  abandon  the  Christian  resisting  the  subtle, 
active,  powerful,  cruel  adversary  of  his  soul ;  but  will  "  make 
him  perfect,  stablish,  strengthen,  settle"  him,  by  the  very 
means  which  were  intended  for  his  spiritual  ruin,  thus 
"  disappointing  the  devices  of  the  crafty  one,  taking  the 
wise  in  his  own  cunning,  and  turning  the  counsel  of  the 
froward  headlong,"  ^ — saving  the  poor  from  the  mouth  of 
the  devourer,  and  rescuing  them  out  of  the  hand  of  him 
who  is  mightier  than  they.^ 

Such  is  the  promise ;  and  is  it  not  full  of  encouragement 
to  the  Christian  amid  the  privations,  and  exertions,  and 
sufferings  to  which  the  resistance  of  his  great  adversary 
may  expose  him  ?  Is  it  not  well  fitted  to  fill  his  heart  with 
that  joy  of  the  Lord  which  is  the  strength  of  his  people ; 
to  make  him  thank  God,  and  take  courage,  saying,  "  If 
God  be  with  me,  who  can  be  against  me  I  Rejoice  not 
against  me,  O  mine  enemy  :  though  I  fall,  I  shall  arise ; 
though  I  sit  in  darkness,  the  Lord  shall  be  a  light  to  me. 
Greater  is  he  who  is  with  me  than  all  that  can  be  against 
me.  Greater  is  he  that  is  in  us  than  he  who  is  in  the 
world."" 

1  Num.  xxiii.  19  ;  Matt.  v.  18.  2  jo|j  y_  12. 

3  There  is  mucli  empliasis  given  to  the  promise  by  the  insertion  of  the 
pronoun  kutoi  between  the  nominative  0  0ios  vratrns  x,°^p'ros  and  the  verbs 
belonging  to  it,  though  it  is  not  noticed  in  our  version.  It  was  just  a 
thing  for  Bengel  to  notice.  "  Alros,  ipse — vos  tantum  vigilate  et  resistite 
hosti :  reliquaDeus  prpestabit.  Conf.  ''JN  Josh.  xiii.  6  ;  conf.  1,  ej.  cap." 
Forster,  in  his  elaborate  work,  On  the  Apostolical  Authority  of  the  Epistle 
to  the  Hebrews,  supposes  that  the  insertion  of  alro;  marks  reference  to 
ch.  xiii.  20,  21  of  that  epistle,  to  which  he  conceives  that  Peter  refers  in 
his  second  epistle  (iii.  15,  16). 

*  Rom.  viii.  1  ;  Mic.  vii.  8  j  1  John  iv.  4 


PART  III.]  ENCOURAGEMENT.  -  379 

§  2.   The  encouragement  contained  in  the  adjuncts  of  the 
promise. 

But  even  this  is  not  all  the  encouragement  and  comfort 
which  this  passage  is  fitted  to  administer  to  the  struggling 
Christian  warrior.  The  adjuncts  of  the  promise  have  the 
same  character  with  the  promise  itself ;  its  manner  as  well 
as  its  matter  is  full  of  consolation.  This  is  the  next  subject 
which  calls  for  our  consideration.  What  encouragement 
to  him  who  resists  the  adversary,  to  reflect  that  He  who  has 
given  to  him  such  "exceeding  great  and  precious  promises" 
is  "  the.  God  of  all  grace,"  the  God  "  who  has  called  him," 
"called  him  to  his  eternal  glory  in  or  by  Christ  Jesus," 
called  him  to  this  glory  "  after  he  has  suffered  a  while !" 
These  are  fruitful  themes,  respecting  which  our  meditation 
should  be  profitable  as  well  as  sweet,  on  which  "  our  hearts 
should  indite  a  good  matter,  and  our  tongues  be  as  the  pen 
of  a  ready  writer." 

(1.)  The  God  who  has  promised  this  is  "  the  God  of  all 
graced 

The  first  consolatory  and  encouraging  consideration  here 
brought  forward  is,  that  the  God  who  has  promised  these 
blessings  is  the  "'  God  of  all  grace."  The  proper  significa- 
tion of  grace  is  kindness,  the  disposition  to  communicate 
happiness ;  but  the  term  is  also  often  employed  to  denote 
those  actions  or  gifts  in  which  this  disposition  is  manifested. 
In  both  of  these  closely  related  significations  of  the  word, 
God  is  the  "  God  of  all  grace." 

He  is  the  all-gracious  God.  His  name  is  "  the  Lord, 
the  Lord  God,  merciful  and  gracious,  long-suffering,  and 
abundant  in  goodness  and  truth."  His  nature  as  well  as 
his  name  is  love.  "  Fury,"  malignity,  passion,  "  is  not  in 
him  ;"  and  from  the  benignity  of  his  nature,  he  is  "  keeping 


380  THE  CHRISTIAN'S  GREAT  ENEMY.       [DISC.  XXIII. 

mercy  for  thousands,  forgiving  iniquity,  transgression,  and 
sin."  "  This  is  his  name,  and  this  is  his  memorial  to  all 
generations."  From  his  perfect  holiness  he  cannot  but 
hate  sin,  and  punish  the  sinner  "  who  goes  on  in  his  tres- 
passes ; "  but  he  has  "  no  pleasure  in  the  death  of  the 
wicked."  On  the  contrary,  He  "  wills  him  to  turn  from  his 
evil  ways,  that  he  may  live,"  be  saved ;  while  he  is  "  ready 
to  forgive,"  and  "  delights  in  mercy,"  in  reference  to  those 
who,  by  the  faith  of  the  truth,  are  "  in  Christ  Jesus." 
Every  obstacle  which  prevents  the  manifestation  of  his  love 
to  them  is  removed.  "  As  a  father  pities  his  children,  he 
pities  them."  "  A  woman  may  forget  her  sucking  child, 
she  may  not  have  compassion  on  the  son  of  her  womb ;" 
but  he  never  can  forget  them,  and  he  can  never  remember 
them  but  with  loving-kindness  and  tender  mercy.  And  he 
rests  in  his  love  to  them.  He  is  "  Jehovah,  who  changes 
not ;"  "  the  same  yesterday,  to-day,  and  for  ever."  "  The 
mountains  shall  .depart,  and  the  hills  be  removed ;  but 
God's  loving-kindness  shall  not  depart  from  them,  neither 
shall  the  covenant  of  his  peace  be  removed"  by  the  Lord 
God,  "  who  has  mercy  on  them." 

Is  this  his  character?  Then  assuredly,  amid  all  their  afflic- 
tions, his  children,  "the  brotherhood,"  may  have  "abundant 
consolation  and  good  hope."  If  he  has  the  power — and  who 
can  doubt  that  ? — he  must  sustain,  and  comfort,  and  deliver. 
He  can  never  allow  them  to  become  the  prey  of  His  and 
their  adversary,  who,  "like  a  roaring  lion,  goeth  about, 
seeking  whom  he  may  devour."  "  He  cannot  deny  himself;" 
and  if  he  cannot  do  this,  he  cannot  but  "  deliver  them  out 
of  the  mouth  of  this  lion," — he  cannot  but  deliver  them 
"  from  every  evil  work,  and  preserve  them  to  his  heavenly 
kingdom."^  Being  "  the  all-gracious  God,"  he  will  assuredly 
"  make  them  perfect,  stablish,  and  strengthen  them." 

1  Ex.  xxxiv.  6,  7  ;  Ezek.  xviii.  23,  32 ;  Isa.  liv.  10 ;  2  Tim.  iv.  IS. 


PART  III.]  ENCOURAGEMENT.  381 

God  is  also  the  God  of  all  grace  in  the  sense  of  benefit. 
He  is  the  author  and  bestower  of  all  true  happiness.  When 
he  is  termed  "  the  God  of  all  consolation,"  the  meaning  is, 
all  true  comfort  comes  from  him,  and  he  bestows  on  his 
people  abundance  of  all  they  need.  When  he  is  termed 
"  the  God  of  peace,"  the  meaning  is,  that  he  is  the  author 
and  bestower  of  true  peace.  So,  when  he  is  called  "  the 
God  of  all  grace,"  the  meaning  may  be,  all  blessings  come 
from  him  ;  He  is  their  ever-full,  ever-flowing  fountain,  and 
to  his  people  he  communicates  them,  in  all  the  variety  and 
abundance  that  their  wants  can  require  or  their  capacities 
receive.  He  "  blesses  them  with  all  spiritual  and  heavenly 
blessings."  What  can  he  want,  all  whose  need  the  God  of 
grace,  of  all  grace,  promises  to  supply,  "  according  to  his 
glorious  riches  ?"  He  can,  he  will,  fit  for  the  combat ;  he 
can,  he  will,  sustain  during  the  conflict ;  he  can,  he  will, 
make  victorious  in  the  conflict ;  he  can,  he  will,  reward 
after  the  conflict.  If  there  be  any  necessary  blessing  not 
included  in  "  all  grace,"  then  the  struggling  Christian 
might  have  some  cause  to  despond ;  but  when  Jehovah, 
"God  Almighty"  (rather  all-sufficient),  says,  I  am  "the 
God  of  all  grace,"  and  "  my  grace  is  sufficient  for  thee," 
well  may  he  "  glory  in  tribulation,"  "  count  it  all  joy  to  be 
brought  into  manifold  temptations,"  and  sing  with  the 
apostle,  "  I  have  all,  and  abound ;  having  nothing,  I  possess 
all  things  ;  I  am  complete  in  him.  Most  gladly  will  I  glory 
in  my  infirmities,  that  the  power"  of  the  God  of  all  grace 
"  may  rest  on  me  :  though  troubled  on  every  side,  I  am  not 
distressed ;  though  perplexed,  I  am  not  in  despair ;  though 
persecuted,  I  am  not  forsaken  ;  though  cast  down,  I  am 
not  destroyed."^  The  God  of  all  grace  has  pledged  his 
word  and  oath  to  me  that  I  shall  want  no  good  thing ;  and 
what  would  I  have,  what  could  I  have  more  ? 

1  2  Cor.  i.  3 ;  Epli.  i.  3  ;  Col.  iv.  19 ;  Gen.  xvii.  1  ;  2  Cor.  xii.  9. 


382  THE  CHRISTIAN'S  GREAT  ENEMY.        [DISC.  XXIII. 


(2.)   Tlds  God  of  all  grace  has  "called"  the  Christian  "in 
Christ  Jesus." 

A  second  consoling  and  encouraging  consideration  is,  this 
God  of  all  grace  has  called  the  Christian  in  Christ  Jesus. 
The  "  called  "  is  one  of  the  distinn-uishing  denominations  of 
true  Christians :  in  its  fuller  form,  "  the  called  of  Christ 
Jesus,"  "  the  called  according  to  God's  purpose  and  grace," 
"the  called  who  obtain  the  promised  eternal  inheritance;" 
and  their  calling  is  designated  "  a  high  calling,"  "  a  holy 
calling,"  a  "  calling  not  according  to  works,  but  according 
to  God's  own  purpose  and  grace,  given  us  in  Christ 
Jesus  before  the  world  began."  All  mankind  are  called 
to  God's  service ;  and  all  mankind,  to  whom  I'evelation 
comes,  are  "  called"  by  God  to  the  enjoyment  of  his  favour, 
as  well  as  to  obedience  to  his  will ;  but  in  the  case  of  the 
great  majority,  they  are  "  called "  in  vain,  ineffectually 
called.  They  will  not  listen  to  the  call ;  they  very  im- 
perfectly understand  it ;  they  obstinately  refuse  to  obey 
it.  And  were  it  not  that  the  sovereign  kindness  of  God 
accompanies  in  certain  cases  the  call  of  providence  and 
revelation  with  the  effectual  operation  of  his  Spirit,  the 
outward  call  with  the  inward  call,  this  would  be  universally 
the  case  with  mankind.  All  would  continue  in  a  state  of 
ignorance,  unbelief,  disobedience,  and  alienation  from  God. 
All  men  would  always  be  what  all  by  nature  are — "without 
God  in  the  world." 

But  in  the  case  of  "  a  multitude  that  no  man  can  number," 
God,  in  the  exercise  of  his  sovereign  mercy,  accompanies 
the  call  of  his  word  and  providence  with  the  special  influence 
of  his  Spirit ;  so  that  the  calling  is  not  in  vain,  but  effectual. 
"  It  comes  not  in  word  merely,  but  in  power,  with  the  Holy 
Ghost,  and  much  assurance."  The  sinner  hears  the  call  of 
the  God  of  all  grace ;  he  understands  it,  he  believes  it;  he 


PART  III.]  ENCOURAGEMENT.  383 

is  sweetly  constrained  to  comply  with  it.  This  calling  is 
the  same  tiling  which  the  apostle  styles  "  election  according 
to  the  foreknowledge  and  purpose  of  God,"  by  which  Chris- 
tians are  spiritually  separated  from  the  rest  of  mankind, 
and  put  in  possession  of  the  blessings  which  flow  from  the 
shedding  of  the  blood  of  sprinkling,  which  "  speaketh  better 
things  than  that  of  Abel."  This  "effectual  calling,"  which 
is  one  of  the  characteristic  blessings  of  the  Christian  salva- 
tion,  and  is  the  gate  by  which  we  enter  into  the  enjoyment 
of  all  the  rest,  is  well  described  in  our  Shorter  Catechism 
as  "  a  work  of  God's  Spirit,  whereby,  convincing  us  of  our 
sin  and  misery,  enlightening  our  minds  in  the  knowledge  of 
Christ,  and  renewing  our  wills,  he  doth  persuade  and  enable 
us  to  embrace  Jesus  Christ,  as  he  is  freely  offered  to  us  in 
the  gospel."  "This  is  a  call,"  as  Leighton  beautifully  says, 
"that  goes  deeper  than  the  ear,  a  word  spoken  home  to 
within,  a  touch  of  the  Spirit  of  God  on  the  heart,  which 
hath  a  magnetic  power  to  draw  it,  so  that  it  cannot  choose 
but  follow,  and  yet  freely  and  sweetly  chooses  to  follow ;  doth 
most  gladly  open  to  let  in  Jesus  Christ,  and  his  sweet  govern- 
ment, upon  his  own  terms;  takes  him,  and  all  the  reproaches 
and  troubles  that  can  come  with  him;  and  well  it  may,  see- 
ing, beyond  a  little  passing  trouble,  abiding  eternal  glory." 
This  calling  is  said  to  be  "  in  Christ  Jesus,"  that  is,  either 
'persons  standing  in  a  peculiar  relation  to  Christ  Jesus, 
identified  as  it  were  with  him,  are  its  subjects;'  or,  "  through 
Christ  Jesus,"  through  his  mediation,  in  consequence  of  his 
atonement,  by  his  Spirit  and  word.  It  is  probably  the  last 
of  these  that  is  here  the  apostle's  idea.  Men  are  called  by 
the  Father  through  the  Son.  This  fundamental  blessing 
was  enjoyed  by  those  to  whom  the  apostle  wrote.  The 
God  of  all  grace  had  called  them  out  of  darkness  into  his 
marvellous  light ;  out  of  subjection  to  sin,  and  the  world, 
and  the  god  of  this  world,  into  the  glorious  liberty  of  his 


384  THE  CHRISTIAN'S  GREAT  ENEMY.       [DISC.  XXIII. 

children.  The  communication  of  this  blessing  is  a  proof 
that  God  loves  with  a  special  love  the  individual  on  whom 
it  is  conferred  ;  and  a  distinct  intimation,  that  all  the  other 
blessings  of  that  salvation,  of  which  this  is  a  constituent 
part,  shall  in  due  time  be  bestowed.  The  fact  of  their  being 
called  by  the  God  of  all  grace,  involves  jn  it  satisfactory 
evidence  that  their  spiritual  adversary  shall  not  ultimately 
prevail  against  them,  that  their  afflictions  cannot  be  per- 
manent, and  that  they  shall  be  made  conducive  to  their 
final  salvation.  Listen  to  the  Apostle  Paul's  development 
of  this  argument :  "  We  know  that  all  things " — he  is 
referring  to  the  afflictions  which  are  accomplished  in  the 
brotherhood  in  this  world — "We  know  that  all  things  work 
together  for  good  to  them  that  love  God ;  who  are  the  called 
according  to  his  purpose.  For  whom  he  did  foreknow,  he 
also  did  predestinate  to  be  conformed  to  the  image  of  his 
Son,  that  he  might  be  the  first-born  among  many  brethren. 
Moreover,  whom  he  did  predestinate,  them  he  also  called ; 
and  whom  he  called,  them  he  also  justified  ;  and  whom  he 
justified,  them  he  also  glorified.  What  shall  we  then  say  to 
these  things  f  If  God  be  for  us,  who  can  be  against  us?"^ 
Can  the  wiles  or  the  ferocity  of  the  roaring  lion,  the  fraud 
or  the  fury  of  the  great  adversary,  accomplish  OUR  ruin, 
who  are  the  called,  the  called  of  the  God  of  all  grace  ? 

(3.)   The  God  of  all  grace  lias  called  Clirlstians  to  Ids 
eternal  glory. 

A  third  consolatory  and  encouraging  consideration  is, 
that  "  the  God  of  all  grace  has  called  the  Christian  to  his 
eternal  glory."  The  phrase,  "called  unto  God's  eternal 
glory,"  may  either  signify,  called  in  order  eternally  to 
promote  the  glory  of  God,  or  called  to  enjoy  or  participate 
in  the  eternal  glory  of  God.  In  either  case,  the  words 
1  Eom.  viii.  28-31. 


PART  III.]  ENCOURAGEMENT.  385 

express  a  truth,  and  a  truth  well  fitted  to  comfort  and 
encourage  Christians  while  struggling  with  their  spiritual 
enemies. 

The  calling  of  the  Christian,  and  the  conferring  on  him 
all  the  blessings  of  the  Christian  salvation  which  grow  out 
of  it,  have  for  their  ultimate  object,  like  everything  else  in 
the  new  creation  as  in  the  old,  the  manifestation  of  God, 
the  illustration  of  his  excellence,  the  display  of  his  glory. 
This  idea  is  very  finely  brought  out  by  the  apostle,  in  the 
first  chapter  of  his  Epistle  to  the  Ephesians :  "  The  God 
and  Father  of  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ  hath  blessed  us  with 
all  spiritual  blessings  in  heavenly  places  in  Christ ;  according 
as  he  hath  chosen  us  in  him  before  the  foundation  of  the 
world,  that  we  should  be  holy  and  without  blame  before 
him  in  love  :  having  predestinated  us  unto  the  adoption  of 
children  by  Jesus  Christ  to  himself,  according  to  the  good 
pleasure  of  his  will,  to  the  praise  of  the  glory  of  his  grace, 
wherein  he  hath  made  us  accepted  in  the  Beloved :  in  whom 
we  have  redemption  through  his  blood,  the  forgiveness  of 
sins,  according  to  the  riches  of  his  grace  ;  wherein  he  hath 
abounded  towards  us  in  all  wisdom  and  prudence  ;  having 
made  known  to  us  the  mystery  of  his  will,  according  to  his 
good  pleasure,  which  he  hath  purposed  in  himself :  that,  in 
the  dispensation  of  the  fulness  of  the  times,  he  might  gather 
together  into  one  all  things  in  Christ,  both  which  are  in 
heaven  and  which  are  on  earth,  even  in  him  :  in  whom 
also  we  have  obtained  an  inheritance,  being  predestinated 
according  to  the  purpose  of  him  who  worketh  all  things 
according  to  the  counsel  of  his  will;  that  we  should  be  to  the 
praise  of  his  glory,  who  first  trusted  in  Christ.  In  whom  ye 
also  trusted,"  or  rather  have  received  an  inheritance,  "  after 
that  ye  heard  the  word  of  truth,  the  gospel  of  your  salva- 
tion :  in  whom  also,  after  that  ye  believed,  ye  were  sealed 
with  that  Holy  Spirit  of  promise,  which  is  the  earnest  of 

VOL.  III.  2  B 


386  THE  CHRISTIAN'S  GREAT  ENEMY.        [DISC.  XXIII. 

our  inheritance,"  both  ours  and  yours,  "  until  the  redemp- 
tion of  the  purchased  possession,  to  the  praise  of  his  glory T  ' 
Were  the  Christian  to  he  allowed  to  fall  a  prey  to  his 
spiritual  enemies,  his  calling,  instead  of  being  to  God's 
eternal  glory,  would  give  cause  to  the  adversary  to  speak 
reproachfully,  saying,  "  The  Lord  was  not  able  to  bring 
them  into  the  land  which  he  had  promised  them."  But 
Jehovah  is  determined,  even  through  means  of  those  babes 
and  sucklings  whom  he  calls,  to  perfect  praise  to  himself, 
and  to  "  still  the  enemy  and  the  avenger."  He  has  called 
them  to  be  his  people,  and  "  formed  them  for  himself,  and 
they  shall  show  forth  his  praise."  His  power,  and  wisdom, 
and  faithfulness,  and  kindness,  shall  be  illustriously  dis- 
played in  the  salvation  of  all  the  called  ones.  "  His  counsel 
shall  stand,  and  he  will  do  all  his  pleasure."  ^  This  is  truth, 
important  truth  ;  truth  naturally  enough  expressed  by  the 
words,  and  truth  well  fitted  to  encourage  and  strengthen 
the  Christian  when  conflicting  with  his  great  adversary. 

Yet  we  are  inclined  to  think  the  other  view  of  the  words 
expresses  the  apostle's  thought.  He  has  called  them  to  a 
participation  of  his  eternal  glory.  The  glory  of  God  some- 
times signifies  the  approbation  of  God.  Thus  the  Jews  are 
said  to  "  receive  honour  (the  same  word)  one  of  another,  and 
not  to  seek  the  honour  that  cometh  from  God  only."  Thus 
all  are  said  to  "  have  sinned  and  come  short  of  the  glory  of 
God  ;"  and  believers,  justified  through  believing,  are  re- 
presented as  "exulting  in  the  hope  of  that  glory,"  that 
approbation,  of  which  they  had  come  short,  and  in  which 
true  glory  and  happiness  consist.  Here,  as  in  some  other 
places,  there  can  be  little  doubt  that  "  the  glory  of  God  "  is 
the  celestial  blessedness ;  but  still  it  is  the  celestial  blessed- 
ness in  a  particular  aspect.     The  glory  of  God  is  that  which 

1  Eph.  i.  3-14. 

2  Num.  xiv.  16  ;  Ps.  viii.  2 ;  Isa.  xliii.  21,  xl\d.  10. 


PART  III  ]  ENCOURAGEMENT.  387 

makes  God  glorious ;  his  eternal  glory,  that  which  makes 
him  eternally  glorious.  Now,  what  is  it  which  makes  God 
glorious?  His  own  inherent  excellences,  especially  his 
moral  excellences,  his  righteousness  and  benignity ;  in  one 
word,  his  holiness.  He  is  "  glorious  in  holiness."  Now,  the 
grand  ultimate  object  of  the  calling  of  the  Christian  is,  that 
he,  to  the  highest  degree  of  which  his  nature  is  capable, 
may  be  made  a  partaker  of  God's  holiness,  which  is  his 
glory.  He  is  called  to  the  fellowship  as  well  as  predesti- 
nated to  be  conformed  to  the  image  of  God's  dear  Son,  who 
is  the  "  brightness  of  his  glory  and  the  express  image  of  his 
person."  It  is  the  purpose  of  God  in  calling  him,  and  in 
giving  him  the  adoption  of  sons  to  which  he  has  been  pre- 
destinated, that  he  shall  be  holy  as  He,  the  holy,  holy,  holy 
One,  is  holy,  perfect  as  he  is  perfect.  It  is  his  purpose,  that 
in  the  kingdom  of  their  Father,  "  the  Father  of  lights,"  his 
called  ones  shall  shine  forth  radiant  with  his  light,  glorious 
in  his  glory ;  and  in  the  only  sense  in  which  eternity  can 
be  truly  predicated  of  them,  or  of  anything  that  belongs 
to  them,  that  their  glory  shall  be  eternal,  that  "  they  shall 
shine  as  the  brightness  of  the  firmament,  and  as  the  stars 
for  ever  and  ever."  Now,  no  assault  from  Satan,  no 
calamities,  no  afflictions,  can  prevent  this  glorious  consum- 
mation ;  nay,  all  their  afflictions  will  be  found  to  have  been 
but  disciplinary  means  of  preparing  them  for  this  grand 
result  of  all  the  divine  dispensations  to  them — the  making 
them  "  partakers  of  his  holiness,"  which  is  his  glory.^ 

(4.)  The  ajfiictions  are  moderate  in  degree,  short  in  duration, 
and  form  a  part  of  the  divine  plan  for  their  Ultimate 
salvation. 

A   fourth   consolatory   and    encouraging    consideration 
suggested,  is  derived  from  the  peculiar  character  of  the 
1  1  Cor.  i.  9  ;  Rom.  viii.  29 ;  Heb.  xii.  10. 


388  THE  CHRISTIAN'S  GREAT  ENEMY.        [DISC.  XXIIF. 

afflictions  to  which  the  brotherhood  are  exposed :  they  are 
comparatively  moderate  in  degree  and  short  in  duration ; 
they  form  a  part  of  the  divine  plan  resulting  from  divine 
appointment ;  and  they  are  closely  connected  with  the  great 
end  of  their  calling — their  coming  to  a  participation  in  the 
glory  of  God.  The  God  of  all  grace  has  called  you  to  his 
eternal  glory  "  after  ye  have  suffered  a  while,"  or  a  little. 
These  words,  "  after  ye  have  suffered  a  while,"  have  been 
closely  connected  by  some  with  the  clause  that  follows : 
"After  ye  have  suffered  a  while,  make  you  perfect,  stablish, 
strengthen,  settle  you."  The  laws  of  the  language  would 
warrant  either  mode  of  connection ;  but  it  is  plain  that  the 
promise  is  not  one  which  is  not  to  be  fulfilled  till  Christians 
have  suffered  a  while.  The  first  promise  refers  to  prepara- 
tion for  suffering,  the  two  next  to  help  under  suffering,  the 
last  to  the  happy  result  of  suffering.  God  calls  his  people 
to  participate  in  his  eternal  glory,  but  not  to  participate  in 
it  "  till  they  have  suffered  a  while,"  or  a  little.  The  word 
may  refer  either  to  time  or  degree.  In  either  case,  a  truth, 
and  a  consolatory  one,  is  expressed.  The  afflictions  to 
which  the  brotherhood  are  exposed  in  this  world  are  com- 
paratively moderate  in  degree.  They  are  often  heavy  when 
compared  with  those  of  other  men,  and  are  often  felt  as 
heavy  by  those  who  bear  them,  making  them  breathe  out, 
"  I  am  oppressed ;  undertake  for  me."  They  are  always 
lighter  than  they  easily  might  be, — always  lighter  than 
strict  justice  would  require  them  to  be.  Everything  to  a 
sinner,  short  of  the  severest  suffering  he  is  capable  of,  is 
mercy.  God  does  not,  however,  "  suffer  them  to  be  tempted 
above  that  they  are  able,  but  will  with  the  temptation  also 
make  a  way  of  escape,  that  they  may  be  able  to  bear  it ;" 
and  especially  they  are  moderate  when  compared  with  the 
"  far  more  exceeding  and  eternal  weight  of  glory"  which  is 
to  follow  them. 


PART  III.]  ENCOURAGEMENT.  389 

They  are  limited  in  duration.  Seasons  of  very  severe 
affliction  are  not  ordinarily  of  long  duration  ;  they  bear 
usually  but  a  small  proportion  to  the  whole  of  human  life. 
How  inconceivably  small  a  proportion  do  they  bear  to  the 
eternity  of  coming  glory !  Surely,  then,  whether  he  look 
on  their  measure  or  their  period,  their  degree  or  their 
duration,  the  Christian  may  well  "  reckon  the  sufferings  of 
the  present  time  not  worthy  to  be  compared  with  the  glory 
which  shall  be  revealed  in  him." 

Then  these  afflictions  are  a  part  of  the  divine  plan.  It 
is  as  much  a  part  of  the  divine  plan  to  put  them  in  pos- 
session of  the  fellowship  of  his  eternal  glory  after  they  have 
suffered  a  while,  as  to  put  them  in  possession  of  it  at  alL 
"  It  is  the  Father's  good  pleasure  to  give  them  the  kingdom;" 
but  it  is  equally  the  Father's  good  pleasure  that  "  through 
much  tribulation  they  enter  into  that  kingdom."  It  is  his 
determination  that  they  "shall  reign  with  Christ;"  but  it 
is  equally  his  determination  that  they  "  shall  first  suffer 
with  him."  ^ 

And  finally,  here,  this  connection,  though  an  appointed 
one,  is  not  an  arbitrary  one.  The  glory  not  only  comes 
after  the  sufferings,  but  it  is  in  some  sense  the  result  of 
them.  Afflictions  are,  under  the  divine  blessing,  appro- 
priate means  of  sanctification ;  of  forming  the  character 
which  fits  for  the  holy  happiness  of  heaven,  "  that  prepared 
place  for  a  prepared  people."  The  truth  on  this  subject 
is  strikingly  stated  by  the  apostle  from  his  own  experience : 
"  Though  our  outward  man  perish,  yet  the  inward  man  is 
renewed  day  by  day.  For  our  light  affliction,  which  is  but 
for  a  moment,  worketh  for  us  a  far  more  exceeding  and 
eternal  weight  of  glory  ;  while  we  look  not  at  the  things 
which  are  seen,  but  at  the  things  which  are  not  seen :  for 
the  things  which  are  seen  are  temporal;  but  the  things 
1  Lvike  xii.  32  j  Acts  xiv.  32  ;  Rom.  viii.  17. 


390  THE  CHRISTIAN'S  GREAT  ENEMY.        [DISC.  XXIII. 

which  are  unseen  are  eternal."  "  Who  would  refuse  to 
suffer  a  while,  a  little  while,  anything  outward  or  inward 
He  sees  fit  ?  How  soon  shall  this  be  over,  past  and  over- 
paid in  the  very  entry,  the  beginning  of  that  glory  that 
shall  never  end!"^ 

IV.   CONCLUSION. 

It  now  only  remains  that  we  shortly  illustrate  the 
concluding  clause  of  the  verse,  which  is  very  generally 
considered  as  a  doxology.  The  words  are,  "To  him  be 
glory  and  dominion  for  ever  and  ever.  Amen."  The  word 
he  is  inserted  by  our  translators,  who  consider  the  clause  as 
an  ascription  of  glory  and  dominion  to  God.  The  word 
is  might  as  well  have  been  inserted,  in  which  case  it  is  an 
assertion  that  glory  and  dominion  belong  to  God.  Had 
the  preceding  verse  been  a  prayer  or  a  thanksgiving,  the 
words  would  likely  have  been  meant  as  a  doxology ;  but 
following  a  promise,  they  seem  to  state  something  cor- 
responding to  the  promise.  "  His  is  the  glory  for  ever  and 
ever,"  and  therefore  he  can  confer  on  his  people  that  glory 
to  which  he  has  called  them,  after  they  have  suffered  a 
while.  He  has  not  only  an  essential  glory  peculiar  to 
himself,  and  of  which  no  creature  can  participate  :  He  has 
a  communicable  glory, — "  the  riches  of  his  glory,"  as  the 
apostle  expresses  it,  by  the  bestowing  of  which  on  others  he 
can  make  them  glorious.  He  is  "  the  Father  of  glory,"  as 
well  as  the  God  of  all  grace,  who  can  give  not  only  grace, 
but  also  glory.  And  as  "  glory  for  ever  and  ever  "  belongs 
to  Him  who  has  "  called  Christians  to  his  eternal  glory 
after  they  have  suffered  a  while,"  so  "  dominion  "  (a  word 
denoting  both  j)ower  and  authority)  "  for  ever  and  ever " 
belongs  to  Him,  who,  as  the  God  of  grace,  promises  that  he 
1  Leighton.     2  Cor.  iv.  16,  17. 


PART  IV.]  CONCLUSION.  391 

will  make  perfect,  stablish,  strengthen,  and  settle  his  people. 
He  has  power  and  right  to  do  whatever  pleases  him,  and 
therefore  can  do  what  he  has  said.  "  His  is  the  greatness, 
and  the  power,  and  the  glory,  and  the  victory,  and  the 
majesty :  for  all  in  the  heaven  and  in  the  earth  is  his ; 
his  is  the  kingdom,  and  he  is  exalted  as  head  above  alL 
Both  riches  and  honour  come  of  Him,  and  he  reigneth  over 
all ;  and  in  his  hand  is  power  and  might ;  and  in  his  hand 
it  is  to  make  great,  and  give  strength  to  all."  He  who  has 
glory  for  ever  and  ever,  can  give  to  his  called  that  fellow- 
ship of  his  eternal  glory  which  he  has  promised ;  and  he 
whose  is  the  dominion,  the  power,  and  the  authority  for 
ever,  is  "  of  power  to  establish  his  people  according  to  the 
gospel  and  the  preaching  of  Jesus  Christ."  He  is  "  able 
to  do  exceeding  abundantly  above  all  that  we  can  ask  or 
think,  according  to  the  power  that  worketh  in  us."  He  can 
"  make  them  perfect  in  every  good  work  to  do  his  will, 
working  in  them  that  which  is  well-pleasing  in  his  sight." 
He  is  ''  able  to  keep  them  from  falling,  and  to  present  them 
faultless  before  the  presence  of  his  glory  with  exceeding 
joy."  ^  It  deserves  notice  that  the  apostle  concludes  his 
epistle  as  he  began  it,  by  turning  the  minds  of  those  to 
whom  he  wrote  to  God,  and  to  the  same  features  in  the 
divine  character — those  which  make  him  a  fit  object  of  our 
love  and  dependence — his  kindness  and  his  might.  In  the 
beginning  he  speaks  of  Him  as  the  God  of  abundant  mercy, 
who  has  power  to  keep  his  people  for  the  inheritance  he  has 
destined  for  them,  and  for  which  he  is  preparing  them ; 
and  here  he  speaks  of  Him  as  the  God  of  all  grace,  whose 
is  the  dominion,  to  whom  all  the  power  and  authority 
rightfully  belong. 

The  apostle  adds  an  emphatic  "  Amen" — a  word,  in  refer- 
ence to  statement,  expressive  of  firm  faith ;  in  reference  to 
1  1  ChroxL  xxix,  II,  12  ;  Jiide  2-L 


392  THE  CHKISTIAN'S  GREAT  ENEMY.       [DISC.  XXIII. 

promises,  of  confident  hope  and  ardent  desire.  In  the  first 
instance  it  is  equivalent  to,  '  It  is  most  certainly  so ;  this 
is  the  very  truth  most  sure.'  In  the  second,  '  I  trust  it 
shall  be  so ;  I  desire  that  it  may  be  so.'  Such,  then,  is  the 
comfort  and  encouragement  by  which  the  apostle  seeks  to 
strengthen  the  brotherhood  amid  the  afllictions  which  must 
be  accomplished  in  them  in  the  world. 

If  anything  extrinsic  could  add  force  to  the  sentiments 
expressed  in  these  words — sentiments  so  instinct  with  life, 
so  fitted  to  impart  spiritual  vigour  to  the  exhausted  spirit  of 
the  Christian,  worn  out  with  watching  the  wiles  and  resist- 
ing the  attacks  of  his  great  adversary — it  is  to  be  found  in 
the  circumstances  of  him  who  uttered  them.  "  Truth," 
such  truth,  "  from  his  lips  prevails  with  double  sway." 
The  word  of  warning,  the  word  of  instruction,  the  word  of 
promise,  the  word  of  encouragement,  come  all  with  pecu- 
liar force  from  the  lips  of  him  to  whom,  on  a  most  memor- 
able occasion,  the  Master  said,  "  Simon,  Simon,  Satan  hath 
desired  to  have  you,  that  he  may  sift  you  as  wheat.  But 
I  have  prayed  for  thee,  that  thy  faith  fail  not ;  and  when 
thou  art  converted,  strengthen  thy  brethren." 

He  speaks  the  things  w^hich  he  knew,  he  testifies  what 
he  had  seen  and  felt.  He  had  disregarded  the  Master's 
warning,  and  the  consequence  had  been  shameful  discom- 
fiture in  his  conflict  with  the  great  enemy ;  aggravated  sin, 
followed  by  deep  penitence,  and  confirmed  attachment  to 
the  cause  of  Christ.  He  had  found  how  faithful  he  is  who 
had  promised,  and  how  able  he  is  to  do  as  he  had  said.  He 
had  preserved  him  from  apostasy  when  on  its  very  brink ; 
and  notwithstanding  the  partial  success  of  his  spiritual  ad- 
versary, he  had  "  stablished,  strengthened,  settled"  him, — 
"  set  him  on  a  rock,  and  established  his  goings." 

How  emphatic  the  warning,  "  Your  enemy,  the  devil, 
goeth  about,  like  a  roaring  lion,  seeking  whom  he  may  de- 


PART  IV.]  CONCLUSION.  393 

vour,"  from  him  who  had  experienced  both  his  wiles  and 
his  ferocity,  and  would  bear  about  with  him  the  scars  of 
his  wounds  while  he  lived ! 

How  forcible  the  injunction,  "  Resist  the  devil,"  and, 
that  you  may  do  so,  "  Be  sober,  and  wakeful,  and  stedf ast 
in  the  faith,"  from  him  who,  notwithstanding  repeated 
warnings,  did  not  watch  and  pray,  and  therefore  entered 
into  temptation,  and  fell  before  it,  and  whose  failure  in  faith 
had  brought  him  so  near  destruction  and  despair — had 
made  him  fall  into  sin,  and  but  for  the  God  of  all  grace 
would  have  made  him  fall  into  perdition ! 

How  consoling  and  encouraging  the  promise,  "  The  God 
of  all  grace,  who  hath  called  you  unto  his  eternal  glory  by 
Christ  Jesus,  shall  make  you  perfect,  stablish,  strengthen, 
settle  you  ;  His  is  the  glory  and  the  dominion  for  ever  and 
ever,"  from  him  whom  the  God  of  all  grace,  in  the  person 
of  his  Son,  had  so  "  out  of  weakness  made  strong," — so 
strengthened  in  the  faith  as  to  make  him  one  of  the  chief 
pillars  of  the  Church  while  he  lived ;  and  when  he  died, 
enabled  him  to  glorify  God,  confessing,  amid  the  protracted 
tortures  of  a  peculiarly  cruel  martyrdom,  the  Master  whom 
once  he  had  thrice  denied ! 

We  cannot  help  thinking  that  the  Saviour's  words,  "When 
thou  art  converted,  strengthen  thy  brethren,"  were  ringing 
in  the  apostle's  ears  when  he  wrote  these  words.  And 
certainly  never  were  addressed  to  the  tempted,  struggling, 
worn-out,  afflicted  Christian  soldier,  words  more  full  of 
warning,  instruction,  consolation,  and  encouragement.  They 
have,  by  the  accompanying  power  of  the  Spirit  of  Jesus, 
strengthened  many  a  brother.  They  have  been  "  words  in 
season"  to  many  a  tempted,  afflicted,  perplexed,  downcast, 
weary  heart ;  and  will  continue  to  be  so  as  long  as  these 
afflictions  continue  to  be  accomplished  in  the  brotherhood 
in  the  world. 


394  THE  CHRISTIAN'S  GREAT  ENEMY.        [DISC.  XXIII. 

Oh  may  we,  my  brethren,  through  their  means,  be  made 
humble  and  cautious,  vigilant  and  believing,  "  stedfast  and 
unmoveable,"  rooted  and  built  up  in  Christ,  strengthened 
with  all  might,  according  to  his  glorious  power,  unto  all 
patience  and  long-suffering  with  joyf ulness ;  giving  thanks 
to  the  Father,  who  hath  made  us  meet  to  be  partakers  of 
the  inheritance  of  the  saints  in  light,  who  hath  delivered 
us  from  the  power  of  darkness,  and  hath  translated  us  unto 
the  kingdom  of  his  dear  Son ;  so  that,  full  of  the  strength 
which  is  the  result  of  the  joy  of  the  Lord,  glorying  in 
tribulation,  and  rejoicing  in  hope  of  the  glory  of  God,  we 
may  "  walk  worthy  of  the  Lord  unto  all  pleasing,  being 
fruitful  in  every  good  work,  and  increasing  in  the  know- 
ledge of  God."^  "Consider  what  has  been  said,  and  the 
Lord  give  you  understanding  in  all  things." 
1  Col.  i.  10-13. 


DISCOURSE  XXIV. 

POSTSCRIPT   OF  THE  EPISTLE. 


"By  Silvanus,  a  faithful  brother  unto  you  (as  I  suppose),  I  have  written 
briefly,  exhorting  and  testifying  that  this  is  the  true  grace  of  God  wherein  ye 
stand.  The  chui'ch  that  is  at  Babylon,  elected  together  with  you,  saluteth  you  : 
and  so  doth  Marcus  my  son.  Greet  ye  one  another  with  a  kiss  of  charity. 
Peace  be  with  you  all  that  are  in  Christ  Jesus.     Amen." — 1  Pet.  v.  12-14. 


"  All  Scripture  is  given  by  inspiration  of  God,"  and  "  all 
Scripture,"  too,  "  is  profitable  for  doctrine,  for  reproof, 
for  correction,  for  instruction  in  righteousness ;  that  the 
man  of  God  may  be  perfect,  throughly  furnished  unto  every 
good  work,"  In  the  mines  of  Peru  there  are  veins  of  pe- 
culiar riches,  and  even  their  rubbish  is  valuable.  In  the 
Holy  Scriptures  there  are  portions  of  peculiar  importance, 
excellence,  and  usefulness,  but  there  is  nothing  trivial, 
nothing  valueless  in  them.  The  superficial  thinker  may 
indeed  find  it  difficult,  it  may  be  impossible,  for  him  to 
derive  instruction  or  improvement  from  many  passages  of 
Scripture,  and  may  on  this  account  rashly  call  in  question 
their  divine  origin,  or  indulge  in  reflections  against  the 
divine  wisdom,  for  allowing  such  passages  a  place  in  the 
inspired  volume ;  but  it  is  his  own  imbecility,  or  ignorance, 
or  inattention,  that  is  wholly  to  blame :  for  it  may  be  safely 
affirmed,  that  there  is  no  passage  of  Scripture  respecting 
which  the  pious,  diligent,  docile  inquirer  cannot  easily  see 
that  it  may  have  served,  or  may  yet  serve,  some  important 


396  POSTSCRIPT  OF  THE  EPISTLE,  [DISC.  XXIV. 

and  useful  purpose ;  and  that  there  are  very  few  from 
which,  after  serious  consideration,  he  cannot  draw  for  him- 
self lessons  which  may  be  turned  to  account  for  the  guid- 
ance of  his  conduct  and  the  improvement  of  his  character. 

To  be  able  to  extract  from  what  have  been  called  the 
barren,  from  what  ought  to  be  called  the  less  exuberant, 
passages  of  Scripture,  the  instruction,  and  warning,  and 
reproof,  and  consolation  which  they  are  intended  and  fitted 
to  communicate,  is  a  talent  which  every  Christian  should 
be  desirous  of  acquiring,  as,  without  the  possession  and 
employment  of  it,  a  considerable  part  of  those  Scriptures 
which  are  "  able  to  make  men  wise  to  salvation,"  will  be 
utterly  useless  to  him  ;  and  it  is  not  one  of  the  least  impor- 
tant duties  of  a  public  teacher  of  Christianity,  to  instruct 
his  audience  in  the  best  way  of  extracting  spiritual  improve- 
ment from  this  class  of  Scripture  passages  :  on  the  one  hand 
guarding  them  against  that  passion  for  allegory  which  leads 
men  to  make  the  plainest  statements  of  the  sacred  writers 
the  vehicle  of  the  dreams  of  their  own  imagination,  thus 
converting  a  divine  oracle  into  a  human  figment ;  and,  on 
the  other,  showing  how  important  purposes  are  served  by 
what  at  first  sight  may  seem  inappropriate  and  unnecessary 
statements,  and  how  replete  such  passages,  when  viewed  in 
their  connection  and  design,  often  are  with  religious  and 
moral  instruction. 

The  subject  of  to-day's  discourse,  the  postscript  of  the 
First  Epistle  of  the  Apostle  Peter,  belongs  to  the  class  of 
Scripture  passages  of  which  we  have  been  speaking.  It  is 
not  indeed  to  be  compared,  in  point  of  intrinsic  importance, 
deep  personal  interest,  and  extensive  usefulness,  with  the 
admirable  doctrinal  and  practical  discussions  by  which  it 
is  preceded,  and  which  for  a  considerable  time  past  have 
not  unpleasantly  nor  unprofitably,  I  trust,  formed  the  sub- 
ject of  our  consideration,  when  we  have  come  together  on 


PART  I.]  RECAPITULATION.  397 

the  first  day  of  the  week,  to  wait  on  the  "  doctrine  of  the 
apostles  ; "  but  it  is  far  indeed  from  being  unimportant, 
uninteresting,  or  useless.  And  if  it  want  many  of  the 
attractions  which  belong  to  them,  it  will  be  found  to  have 
attractions  peculiar  to  itself.  It  is  with  the  word  as  it  is 
with  the  works  of  God.  "  There  is  one  glory  in  the  sun, 
and  another  glory  in  the  moon,  and  another  glory  in  the 
stars  ;  for  one  star  differeth  from  another  star  in  glory." 
Let  us  look  at  the  passage  a  little  more  closely,  that  we  may 
perceive  its  meaning  and  ascertain  its  use. 

It  obviously  forms  a  postscript  to  the  epistle,  which,  as  a 
doctrinal  and  hortatory  address,  is  most  appropriately  and 
gracefully  concluded  in  the  11th  verse.  This  postscript  is 
occupied  with  recapitulation,  salutation,  exhortation,  and 
benediction.  The  recapitulation  is  contained  in  the  12th 
verse ;  the  salutation  in  the  loth  ;  the  exhortation  in  the 
first  clause,  and  the  benediction  in  the  last  clause,  of  the 
14th.     Ijet  us  attend  to  them  briefly  in  their  order. 

I.   EECAPITULATION. 

It  has  been  supposed  by  some  interpreters  of  high  name 
that  the  12th  verse  has  in  it  nothing  recapitulatory,  and  that 
the  epistle  referred  to  in  it  is  not  that  which  the  apostle 
had  just  finished,  but  one  that  he  had  sent  to  the  same 
churches  on  some  former  occasion.  This  supposition  is  an 
entirely  gratuitous  one.  It  is  not  required  by  the  words, 
though,  were  it  otherwise  supported,  the  words  might  easily 
be  reconciled  with  it.  But  there  is  no  trace  in  Scripture 
or  in  ecclesiastical  history  of  the  apostle  having  written 
such  an  epistle ;  and  there  is  satisfactory  evidence  that  he 
did  not  write  it,  for  he  terms  an  epistle  which  he  subse- 
quently addressed  to  these  churches,  his  second  epistle  : 
"  This  second  epistle,  beloved,  I  now  write  unto  you ;    in 


398  POSTSCRIPT  OF  THE  EPISTLE.  [DISC.  XXIV. 

both  which  I  stir  up  your  pure  minds  by  way  of  remem- 
brance." 

The  recapitulation  refers  to  three  things :  the  subject  of 
the  epistle,  and  the  duty  of  Christians  in  reference  to  it ; 
the/orm  of  it,  a  testimony  and  an  exhortation,  and  a  brief 
testimony  and  exhortation  ;  the  testimony  that  "  the  grace 
of  God,"  which  is  the  great  subject  of  the  epistle,  is  "  the 
true  grace  of  God,"  and  the  exhortation  to  stand,  with 
regard  to  that  grace ;  and  finally,  the  mode  of  writing  or 
transmitting  the  epistle,  "  By  Silvanus,  a  faithful  brother." 

CHAP.  I.    THE  SUBJECT  OF  THE  EPISTLE. 

§  1.   The  grace  of  God. 

"  The  grace  of  God"  properly  signifies  the  kindness,  the 
free  favour  of  God,  as  a  principle  in  the  divine  mind ;  but 
is  often  employed  to  signify  the  deeds  of  kindness,  the  gifts 
and  the  benefits,  in  which  this  principle  finds  expression. 
It  has  been  common  to  interpret  the  phrase  here  as  equi- 
valent to  the  gospel,  the  revelation  of  God's  grace ;  and  the 
apostle  has  been  considered  as  affirming  that  the  doctrine 
which  those  he  was  writing  to  had  embraced,  and  to  which 
they  had  adhered, — to  use  the  Apostle  Paul's  phrase,  "  which 
they  had  received,  and  in  which  they  stood," — was  the  true 
gospel.  But  I  doubt  if  the  gospel  is  ever  called  "the 
grace  of  God"  in  the  New  Testament ;  and  I  equally  doubt 
whether  the  words,  thus  understood,  are  an  accurate  state- 
ment of  what  this  epistle  actually  contains.  There  are  just 
two  other  passages  in  the  New  Testament  in  which  "  the 
grace  of  God"  has  been  supposed  to  be  a  designation  of  the 
gospel.  After  stating  the  message  of  mercy  which  the 
ministers  of  reconciliation  are  called  to  deliver,  the  apostle 
in  his  Epistle  to  the  Corinthians  says,  "  We  beseech  you 
that  ye  receive  not  the  grace,"  or  this  grace,  "  of  God  in 


PART  I.]  RECAPITULATION.  399 

vain."^  The  reference  here  is  no  doubt  to  the  gospel ;  but 
the  meaning  of  the  phrase,  "  the  grace  of  God,"  is  plainly 
just  this  divine  favour,  this  benefit  which  so  expresses,  and, 
as  it  were,  embodies  the  divine  grace.  And  in  the  Epistle 
to  Titus,  the  same  apostle  states,  that  "  the  grace  of  God, 
bringing  salvation  to  all,"  has  been  manifested,  or  has 
"  appeared,  teaching"  those  who  apprehend  it  "  to  deny 
ungodliness  and  worldly  lusts,  and  to  live  soberly,  right- 
eously, and  godly  in  the  present  world."  ^  The  grace  of 
God  is  often  said  to  mean  here  the  gospel,  but  the  gospel 
is  the  manifestation,  the  revelation  of  this  grace ;  and  the 
truth  taught  in  this  passage  is,  that  the  free,  sovereign 
mercy  of  God,  when  it  is  apprehended  by  the  sinner,  is  the 
true  principle  of  holiness  in  his  heart  and  life.  Let  a  man 
but  really  believe  the  grace  of  God,  know  it  in  truth,  and 
he  can  be  an  ungodly,  immoral  man  no  longer.  And  as 
there  is  no  satisfactory  evidence  that  "  the  grace  of  God" 
is,  properly  speaking,  a  synonym  for  the  gospel ;  so,  on  the 
other  hand,  if  we  read  this  epistle  carefully,  we  shall  not 
find  that  the  sum  of  it  is  a  testimony  that  the  gospel,  as 
received  and  held  by  the  churches  addressed,  was  the  true 
gospel.  That  question  is  never  mooted,  but  obviously 
throughout  taken  for  granted.  It  would  be  a  correct  ac- 
count of  the  Epistle  to  the  Galatians,  that  it  is  a  testimony 
that  the  gospel  preached  to  them  by  the  apostle  was,  in 
opposition  to  that  preached  to  them  by  the  Judaizing 
teachers,  the  true  gospel ;  but  the  character  of  this  epistle 
is  in  no  degree  controversial.  What  "  the  grace  of  God" 
in  the  passage  before  us  means,  will  be  most  satisfactorily 
ascertained  by  inquiring  what  it  means  in  the  epistle  of 
which  it  is  represented  as  one  of  the  great  subjects.  In  the 
10th  verse  of  the  first  chapter  the  apostle  speaks  of  "  the 
grace"  of  which  the  ancient  prophets  prophesied  as  to  come 
1  2  Cor.  \\.  1.  2  Tit.  u.  11,  12. 


400  POSTSCRIPT  OF  THE  EPISTLE.  [DISC.  XXIV. 

to  Christians ;  and  in  the  13th  verse  of  that  chapter,  of 
"  the  grace  which  was  to  be  brought  to  them  at  the  revela- 
tion of  Jesus  Christ."  That  grace  is  obviously  the  Christian 
salvation  in  its  heavenly  and  spiritual  blessings,  enjoyed 
partially  on  earth,  fully  in  heaven.  This  grace  is  a  leading 
subject  of  the  epistle.  The  specific  nature  and  transcendent 
glory  and  excellence  of  those  blessings,  in  which  the  grace 
of  God  is  manifested,  are  declared.  Christians  are  repre- 
sented as  "elect,  according  to  the  foreknowledge  of  God;" 
spiritually  separated  from  the  world ;  sprinkled  with  the 
blood  of  Jesus  Christ ;  begotten  to  a  lively  hope,  to  an 
inheritance  incorruptible,  undefiled,  and  that  fadeth  not 
away ;  as  having  tasted  that  the  Lord  is  gracious,  by  being 
constituted  a  chosen  generation,  a  spiritual  temple,  a  royal 
priesthood,  a  holy  nation,  a  peculiar  people ;  as  having 
'  salvation,'  complete  deliverance  from  all  evil,  laid  up  for 
them  in  heaven,  where  it  is  ready  to  be  revealed  in  the  last 
time,  while  they  are  kept  for  it  by  the  power  of  God 
through  faith,  and  on  receiving  which  at  the  revelation  of 
the  Lord  Jesus  they  will  be  glad  with  exceeding  joy,  re- 
joicing "  with  a  joy  that  is  unspeakable  and  full  of  glory." 
This  is  "  the  grace  of  God"  concerning  which  the  apostle 
here  says  he  had  given  a  testimony  in  the  epistle  which  he 
has  just  closed. 

§  2.   Tlie  Chvistiaiis  duty  in  reference  to  this  grace  : 
"  to  stand" 

The  other  subject  of  the  epistle,  according  to  its  author, 
is  the  Christian's  duty  in  reference  to  this  grace  of  God. 
At  first  sight,  the  words  in  which  we  think  the  duty  of 
Christians  in  reference  to  the  grace  is  very  briefly  but 
very  comprehensively  summed  up,  the  words  rendered  by 
our  translators  "  in  which  ye  stand,"  seem  merely  to  be  a 
part  of  the  testimony  respecting  "  the  grace  of  God,"  and 


PART  I.]  RECAPITULATION.  401 

to  denote  rather  the  Christian's  privilege  than  his  duty; 
just  as  when  the  Apostle  Paul  says,  "By  faith  ye  have 
entrance  into  this  grace  wherein  ye  stand."  ^  But  the  two 
expressions  are  not  the  same.  The  phrase  before  us  is 
literally  "  into  which,"  which  may  mean,  in  reference  to 
which,  or  until  which,  but  which  cannot  mean  strictly  171 
which.^  It  deserves  notice,  that  the  apostle  speaks  of 
having  exhorted  in  the  epistle  ;  but,  as  the  words  are  ordi- 
narily understood,  there  is  no  subject  of  exhortation  re- 
ferred to.  In  some  ancient  manuscripts  the  reading  is  not 
"ye  stand,"  but  "  stand  ye  ;"^  expressive  not  of  an  assertion, 
but  of  a  command  or  exhortation.  If  that  reading  be 
adopted — and  it  has  been  by  some  learned  men — then  the 
meaning  is,  "  in  reference  to  which  grace  of  God,"  or  until 
which  grace  of  God  is  fully  brought  unto  you,  "  stand  ye." 
This  most  certainly  is  the  sum  and  substance  of  the  duty 
enjoined  on  Christians  in  this  epistle  :  the  standing  firm 
amid  all  temptations  in  the  faith  and  practice  of  Christi- 
anity with  a  reference  to  the  grace  of  Christ,  as  persons 
who  have  already  been  made  partakers  of  it,  as  persons  who 
hope  to  be  made  partakers  of  it  in  far  larger  measure,  and 
'  to  obtain  full  participation  of  it  through  "  standing."  As 
the  whole  doctrinal  subject  of  the  epistle  is  the  grace  of 
Christ,  so  the  whole  practical  subject  of  the  epistle  is  the 
duty  of  Christians  in  reference  to  that  grace ;  and  the  whole 
of  that  duty  may  be  summed  up  in  one  word,  "stand." 
The  whole  practical  part  of  the  epistle  is  just  the  develop- 
ment of  the  first  exhortation  :  "  Wherefore,"  that  is,  seeing 
ye  have  received  these  promises  and  hopes,  "  gird  up  the 
loins  of  your  mind,  be  sober,  and  hope  to  the  end,  for  the 

1  Rom.  V.  2. 

2  E/j  never  can  mean  h  ;  as  "motion  towards"  can  never  be  identified 
with  "rest  in." 

3  2t)Jt£.     Laclimann. 

VOL.  III.  2  C 


402  POSTSCRIPT  OF  THE  EPISTLE.  [DISC.  XXIV. 

grace  that  is  to  be  brought  unto  you  at  the  revelation  of 
Jesus  Christ :  as  obedient  children,  not  fashioning  your- 
selves according  to  the  former  lusts  in  your  ignorance ;  but 
as  he  which  hath  called  you  is  holy,  so  be  ye  holy  in  all 
manner  of  conversation."  This  is  a  favourite  compendium 
of  Christian  duty  with  the  Apostle  Paul.^ 

CHAP.  II.  THE  FOEM  OF  THE  EPISTLE. 

It  is  a  tesiimony  and  exJwrtation  respecting  the  grace  of  God. 

The  apostle  notices  not  only  the  subjects  of  the  epistle, 
but  the  form  in  which  he  has  treated  them.  His  statements 
with  regard  to  the  grace  of  God  take  the  form  of  a  "  testi- 
mony." His  statements  with  regard  to  the  Christian's 
duty  take  the  form  of  "  an  exhortation  :"  "  I  have  written, 
exhorting  and  testifying  that  this  is  the  true  grace  of  God, 
in  reference  to  which  do  ye  stand."  We  would  naturally 
have  expected,  from  "  exhorting"  coming  before  "  testify- 
ing," that  the  sum  of  the  exhortation  should  have  preceded 
the  sum  of  the  testimony.  But  it  is  a  common  peculiarity 
in  Hebrew  composition,  of  which  we  have  many  instances 
in  the  New  Testament,  after  dividing  a  subject  into  two 
parts,  to  take  up  the  second  part  first,  and  then  revert  to  the 
first.  It  would  be  more  according  to  the  usage  of  modern 
language  to  say,  "  Testifying  that  the  grace  of  God,  which 
ye  as  Christians  enjoy,  is  the  true  grace  of  God,  and  ex- 
horting you  to  stand  in  reference  to  this  grace." 

The  testimony  in  the  epistle  respecting  the  grace  of  God 
which  they  enjoyed,  that  is,  the  blessings  of  the  Christian 
salvation,  is,  that  it  is  the  true  grace  of  God.  The  sum  of 
that  part  of  the  epistle  that  is  occupied  with  doctrine  is  just : 
Ye  Christians  are  the  true  spiritual  people  of  God,  of  whom 
the  Jews,  his  ancient  external  people,  were  types ;  and  the 
1  1  Cor.  xvi.  13  ;  Gal.  v.  1  ;  Eph.  vi.  14 ;  PMI.  iv.  1  ;  2  Tliess.  ii.  15. 


PART  I.]  KECAPITULATION.  403 

blessings  you  enjoy  are  the  true  spiritual  blessings,  of  wbicli 
the  external  blessings  of  the  ancient  economy  were  the 
types.  To  use  the  language  of  John,  "  They,  out  of  the 
fulness  of  him  who  is  the  Only-begotten  of  God,  the 
revealer  of  him  in  whose  bosom  he  was  from  the  bemnnincr, 
who  is  full  of  grace  and  truth,  true  grace,  had  received 
grace  for,"  in  the  room  of  "  grace,"  the  blessings  of  the  new 
dispensation  in  the  room  of  the  blessings  of  the  old ;  "  for 
the  law,"  which  was  a  grace,  a  favour,  and  a  great  one,  "was 
given  by  Closes,  but  the  grace  and  truth,"  the  true  grace, 
the  great  manifestation  of  the  love  of  God  in  the  bless- 
ings of  a  spiritual  and  eternal  salvation,  "  came  by  Jesus 
Christ."  ^  This,  says  Peter,  is  "  the  grace  that  is  come  to 
you,"  and  "  this  is  the  true  grace  of  God." 

The  apostle's  declaration  on  this  subject  takes  the  form 
of  a  testimony.  Not  a  demonstration  on  abstract  principles, 
not  a  statement  of  his  own  individual  opinion,  but  the 
declaration  of  a  testimony  with  which,  in  common  with  his 
apostolic  brethren,  he  had  been  "  put  in  trust"  by  God. 
"  The  grace"  to  be  brought  to  the  true  people  of  God  under 
the  Messiah,  was  "  a  mystery,  kept  secret  from  former  ages 
and  generations  ; "  "  as  it  is  written.  Eye  hath  not  seen,  nor 
ear  heard,  neither  have  entered  into  the  heart  of  man,  the 
things  which  God  had  prepared  for  them  that  love  him." 
That  was  "  the  wisdom  of  God  in  a  mystery,  the  hidden 
wisdom,  which  God  had  ordained  before  the  world,  unto  the 
glory "  of  his  people  under  the  last  and  best  dispensation 
of  his  grace.  "But  God  revealed  these  things"  unto  his 
holy  apostles  "  by  his  Spirit,  and  they,  having  received  the 
Spirit  which  is  of  God,  and  having  the  mind  of  Christ, 
testified  the  things  which  he  revealed  to  them,  not  in  words 
taught  by  man's  wisdom,  but  in  words  taught  by  the  Holy 
Ghost."  ^ 

1  John  i.  16,  17.  2  Rom.  x\a.  25 ;  1  Cor.  ii.  7,  9,  13. 


404  POSTSCRIPT  OF  THE  EPISTLE.  [DISC.  XXIV. 

As  the  declaration  respecting  truth  took  the  form  of 
"  testimony,"  so  the  declaration  with  regard  to  duty  took 
the  form  of  "exhortation."  The  practical  part  of  the 
epistle  is  not  a  dry  system  of  ethics,  but  a  warm  exhortation, 
showing  Christians  what  it  is  to  stand,  how  they  were  to  be 
enabled  to  stand,  and  why  tliey  should  stand. 

The  apostle  further  notices,  that  the  testimony  and  the 
exhortation  contained  in  this  epistle  were  a  brief  testimony 
and  exhortation  :  "  In  few  words  exhorting  and  testifying." 
Here,  as  well  as  in  the  Epistle  to  the  Hebrews,  where  the 
apostle  says,  at  the  close  of  the  comparatively  long  Epistle 
to  the  Hebrews,  "  I  have  written  a  letter  to  you  in  few 
words,"  we  apprehend  the  reference  is  rather  to  the  con- 
densation than  to  the  brevity,  strictly  so  called,  of  the 
compositions.  This  is  not  a  short  epistle,  and  the  Epistle 
to  the  Hebrews  is  one  of  the  longest  in  the  New  Testament ; 
but  there  is  no  unnecessary  diffuseness,  no  waste  of  words ; 
and  on  this  account,  as  well  as  higher  ones,  Peter's  letter, 
like  Paul's,  is  "  weighty  and  powerful."  In  our  illustrations 
of  the  epistle,  we  have  had  abundant  opportunities  of  observ- 
ing in  how  few  words  Peter  wraps  up  pregnant  thoughts, 
exhibits  far-reaching  views. 

What  the  apostle  represents  as  the  characteristics  of  his 
epistle,  are  equally  those  of  the  apostolic  epistles  generally. 
They  are  occupied  with  brief,  condensed  testimonies  and 
exhortations  respecting  the  grace  of  God,  and  the  duty  of 
Christians  in  reference  to  that  grace.  And  as  the  apostles' 
discourses,  recorded  in  the  Acts  of  the  Apostles,  are  the 
models  which  Christian  ministers  should  follow  in  preaching 
the  gospel  to  the  world  lying  under  the  wicked  one,  so  their 
epistles  are  the  models  which  they  should  follow  in  teaching 
the  doctrine  and  the  law  of  Christ  to  the  churches  of  the 
saints,  to  "  them  who  have  believed  through  grace."  Every 
Christian  teacher's  system  of  instruction  should  embrace  in 


PART  I.]  RECAPITULATION.  405 

it  a  clear,  distinct  statement  of  the  true  grace  of  God,  of 
the  exceeding  great  and  precious  blessings  of  the  Christian 
salvation ;  he  should  conduct  his  people  throughout  the 
length  and  breadth  of  the  goodly  heritage  assigned  them 
even  here  below ;  and  he  should  often  take  them  up  as  it 
were  into  an  exceeding  high  mountain,  and,  teaching  them 
to  apply  the  prospective  glass  of  the  gospel  to  the  eye  of 
faith,  show  them  the  glories  of  the  kingdom  which  awaits 
them  in  the  land  that  is  far  off.  If  he  does  not  do  this,  he 
is  not  a  minister  of  the  gospel  at  all.  And  his  system  should 
equally  embrace  in  it  a  clear  statement  and  a  powerful  en- 
forcement of  the  duties  which  lie  on  Christians,  as  partakers 
of  the  grace  of  God  in  truth.  And  his  doctrinal  preaching 
must  all  wear  the  form  of  "  a  testimony,"  a  declaration,  of 
what  God  the  Lord  says,  of  what  is  the  mind  of  Christ,  of 
what  the  Holy  Ghost  has  declared, — not  of  human  conjec- 
tures and  reasonings,  but  of  divine  revelations ;  and  his 
practical  preaching  must  all  have  the  form  of  exhortation, 
— not  occupying  the  mind  with  ethical  disquisitions  and 
questions,  but  pressing  home  clearly  announced  divine  in- 
junctions on  the  conscience  and  the  heart.  The  testimony 
and  the  exhortation  must  go  together,  and  be  presented  as 
closely  connected, — the  one  the  foundation,  the  other  the 
building.  The  grace,  the  true  grace,  must  be  declared,  in 
order  that  they  who  believe  in  Christ  may  be  careful  to 
maintain  good  works.  It  is  also  very  desirable  that  all  this 
should  be  done  briefly,  ''  in  few  words ; "  that  is,  that  the 
teaching,  though  plain,  should  be  condensed.  The  time 
afforded  for  Christian  teaching  is  necessarily  very  limited, 
and  many  Christians  have  few  means  of  Christian  instruc- 
tion besides  public  teaching.  It  is  therefore  a  matter  of 
great  importance  that  the  discourses  of  a  Christian  minister 
should  contain  as  much  matter  as  can  be  brought  into  them, 
without  overtasking  the  minds  of  the  hearers. 


406  POSTSCRIPT  OF  THE  EPISTLE.  [DISC.  XXIV. 

CHAP.  III.   THE  MODE  OF  THE  WRITING  OR  TRANSMISSION 
OF  THE  EPISTLE. 

The  only  other  thing  in  the  recapitulatory  part  of  the  post- 
script that  requires  attention,  is  the  mode  of  tlie  writing  or 
of  the  transmission  of  the  letter :  "  By  Silvanvis,  a  faithful 
brother  unto  you,  as  I  suppose,  I  have  written."  In  the 
Acts  of  the  Apostles,  and  in  the  epistles  of  Paul,  we  read 
of  a  person  of  this  name.  In  the  epistles  he  is  always 
termed  Silvanus  ;  in  the  Acts  his  name  is  always  contracted 
into  Silas.  Some  have  supposed,  from  the  last  name  and 
Tertius,  the  one  a  Hebrew,  the  other  a  Latin  word,  having 
the  same  signification,  that  he  is  the  person  who  performed 
the  office  of  amanuensis  to  Paul  when  writing  to  the  Ro- 
mans.^ All  that  we  know  of  him  with  certainty  is,  that  he 
was  a  distinguished  "  teacher  and  prophet"  in  the  church 
of  Jerusalem,  "  a  chief  man  among  the  brethren  ;"  that  he 
was  associated  along  with  Barsabas,  surnamed  Judas,  and 
sent  with  Paul  and  Barnabas  to  the  Gentile  churches  in 
Antioch,  Syria,  and  Cilicia,  to  carry  those  letters  of  the 
apostles,  elders,  and  brethren,  which  contained  their  decision 
of  the  question  respecting  the  obligation  of  the  law  on 
Christian  Gentiles  which  had  been  referred  to  them ;  that 
on  the  disagreement  between  Paul  and  Barnabas,  he  accom- 
panied the  former  on  his  journey  through  Asia  Minor  to 
Macedonia ;  that  he  remained  behind  at  Berea  for  a  short 
time,  when  Paul  was  obliged  to  flee  from  that  place,  but 
rejoined  the  apostle  at  Corinth ;  and  that  he  is  mentioned 
along  with  Timothy  by  the  apostle  in  the  inscription  of  the 
Epistles  to  the  Thessalonians.     It  would  appear  that  he  had 

1  Acts  XV.  22,  27,  34,  40,  x\'i.  25,  xvii.  7,  10,  15 ;  2  Cor.  ii.  19;  1 
Thess.  i.  1 ;  Eom.  xvi.  22 ;  Burmanni  Exercitationes,  p.  161  ;  Wolfii 
Curae,  2  Cor.  i.  19 ;  Walchii.  Miscellan.  Exercitatt.  ii.  p.  39 ;  Capelli 
Spicileg.  p.  97 ;  Witsii  Meletem.  Leid.  x>-  99 ;  Hilleri  Onomasticon,  p.  680. 


PART  I.]  RECAPITULATION.  *  407 

gone,  it  may  be  sent  by  Paul,  into  the  Parthian  empire, 
where  Peter  seems  to  have  been  when  he  wrote  this  epistle  ; 
for  the  tradition  that  this  is  another  person  of  the  same 
name  has  no  foundation. 

It  has  been  made  a  question  whether  Silvanus  was  Peter's 
amanuensis  in  writing  the  epistle,  or  his  messenger  in  carry- 
ing it  into  Asia  Minor  and  the  adjacent  regions.  The 
expressions  are  applicable  to  either  case,  and  it  is  quite 
possible  he  might  be  both.  Had  he  meant  to  remain  with 
Peter,  it  is  likely  his  salutation  would  have  been  given  as 
well  as  Mark's,  and  the  phraseology  is  that  commonly  used 
in  reference  to  the  bearers  of  the  apostolic  letters. 

Peter  describes  Silvanus  as  a  "  brother."  All  men  are 
brothers.  "  Have  we  not  one  Father  ?  hath  not  one  God 
created  usl"  "for  we  are  all  his  offspring."^  All  Chris- 
tians are  brothers.  "  One  is  your  Father,  and  ye  are  all 
brethren,"  says  our  Lord  :  "  holy  brethren,"  as  the  apostle 
has  it,  "  partakers  of  the  heavenly  calling."  All  Christian 
office-bearers  are  brothers.  Thus  Peter  speaks  of  his  be- 
loved brother  Paul.^  It  is  in  this  last  sense  probably  that 
Peter  here  uses  the  appellation.  We  know  that  Silas  was 
a  teacher  and  a  prophet,  and  we  know  that,  when  the  whole 
Church  are  called  "  saints,"  the  office-bearers  are  distin- 
guished by  being  called  "  brethren."  ^  The  word  "  faithful," 
the  epithet  given  to  Silvanus,  sometimes  signifies  believing, 
sometimes  trustworthy,  sometimes  distinguished  by  fidelity. 
I  have  no  doubt  it  was  applicable  to  Silvanus  in  all  these 
shades  of  meaning.  As  the  word  is  connected  with  "  to 
you,"  for  it  is  not  "  I  wrote  to  you,"  but  "  a  faithful  brother 
to  you,"  I  think  it  likely  that  it  was  meant  to  convey  the 
two  last  ideas, — a  minister  of  Christ  who  has  proved  himself 
trustworthy  by  his  faithful  discharge  of  duty  to  you. 

1  Mai.  ii.  10  ;  Acts  xvii.  28. 

2  Matt,  xxiii.  8  ;  Heb.  iii.  1  ;  2  Pet.  iii.  15.  ^  -phxl.  iv.  21,  22. 


408  POSTSCRIPT  OF  THE  EPISTLE.  [DISC.  XXIV. 

The  parenthetical  words  rendered  "as  I  suppose"^  do 
not  imply  the  idea  of  uncertainty,  as  our  Enghsh  word 
'  suppose'  does.  It  is  the  word  the  apostle  uses  when  he 
says,  "  We  conclude  that  a  man  is  justified  by  faith,  and  not 
by  works  of  the  law ;"  "  I  rechon  the  sufferings  of  the  present 
time  not  worthy  to  be  compared  with  the  glory  that  shall 
be  revealed ;"  "  Abraham  accounted  that  God  was  able  to 
raise  the  dead."^  There  was  no  doubt  in  any  of  these 
cases,  and  we  have  no  cause  to  think  there  was  any  doubt 
here  either.  It  is,  "  I  have  sent  my  letter  by  Silvanus ;  and 
the  reason  why  I  have  done  so  is,  that  I  have  perfect  confi- 
dence in  his  fidelity,  and  know  that  he  has  approved  himself 
a  faithful  minister  of  Christ  on  your  behalf."  The  apostles 
were  accustomed  to  send  their  letters,  not  by  ordinary 
messengers,  but  by  individuals  of  known  and  accredited 
character.  Paul  sent  the  Epistles  to  the  Ephesians  and 
Colossians  by  Tychicus;  the  First  Epistles  to  the  Corin- 
thians and  Thessalonians  by  Timothy ;  ■  the  Second  to  the 
Corinthians  by  Titus ;  the  Epistle  to  Philemon  by  Onesi- 
mus  ;  the  Epistle  to  the  Romans  by  Phebe,  a  deaconess. 
Thus  two  objects  were  gained :  the  apostles  were  assured 
that  the  epistles  would  be  delivered,  and  the  churches 
assured  that  the  epistles  were  not  surreptitious.  It  is  a 
piece  of  Christian  wisdom  to  employ  men  in  engagements 
for  which  they  are  peculiarly  fitted.  Silvanus,  intimately 
acquainted  with  the  churches  to  whom  the  apostle  wrote, 
was  far  better  fitted  to  be  his  messenger  than  an  equally 
good  and  gifted  man  who  was  a  stranger  to  them.  Silvanus 
bringing  the  letter  would  be  to  them  abundant  proof  of  its 
authenticity.  And  it  is  exceedingly  becoming  in  men  who, 
like  Peter,  are  pillars  in  the  Church,  men  of  long  standing 
and  high  influence,  to  comfort  the  hearts  and  increase  the 
usefulness  of  their  younger  brethren,  by,  on  proper  occa- 
1  'v.;  Xoyilo/xai.  ^  Eom.  iii.  28,  viii.  IS  ;  Heb.  xi.  19. 


PART  II  ]  SALUTATION.  409 

sions,  proclaiming  the  confidence  they  have  in  them,  and 
the  esteem  with  which  they  regard  them ;  and,  on  the  other 
hand,  nothing  is  more  unworthy  than  for  one  of  Christ's 
servants,  through  httle  jealousies,  to  withhold  from  another 
all  the  support  which  the  seasonable  expression  of  merited 
good  opinion  is  calculated  to  communicate.  So  much  for 
the  recapitulation. 

II.    THE  SALUTATION. 

The  salutation  contained  in  the  13th  verse  is  in  these 
words :  "  The  church  that  is  at  Babylon,  elected  together 
with  you,  saluteth  you  ;  and  so  doth  Marcus  my  son."  To 
salute  is  to  kiss  or  embrace  :  here  it  plainly  means  to 
cherish  and  express  cordial  affection,  of  which  a  salute  is 
the  token. 

§  1.   The  salutation  of  the  church  in  Babylon. 

You  will  notice  that  the  words  "church  that  is"  are 
printed  in  italics,  intimating  that  there  is  nothing  in  the 
original  to  answer  to  them.  The  text  literally  rendered  is, 
"  She  at  Babylon,  co-elect,  saluteth  you."  It  has  been  a 
question  among  interpreters,  whether  the  person  here  men- 
tioned is  a  real  or  figurative  person,  an  individual  or  a 
society.  Some  have  supposed  that  it  refers  to  some  Chris- 
tian woman,  perhaps  of  the  name  of  Suneklekta,  the  Greek 
word  rendered  "  elected  together  with  you,"  probably  of 
great  worth  and  usefulness,  and  perhaps  rank  and  wealth, 
resident  at  Babylon,  well  known  for  her  good  works — one 
like  John's  "  elect  lady  ; "  though  some  have  supposed  that 
she  and  her  elect  sister  were  sister  churches,  and  their 
children  the  church  members.  Others  have  supposed  that 
it  was  Peter's  "  sister-wife,"  that  is.  Christian  wife,  Avhom 
we  know  from  the  Apostle  Paul  he  was  accustomed  to  "  lead 


410  POSTSCRIPT  OF  THE  EPISTLE.  [DISC.  XXIV. 

about"  with  him  in  his  apostoKc  labours,  and  who  was  at 
this  time  residing  in  Babylon,  and  that  Marcus,  mentioned 
immediately  after,  was  not  Mark  the  evangelist,  but  their 
son.  Either  of  these  suppositions,  no  doubt,  may  be  true  ; 
but  the  probability  seems  on  the  side  of  the  view  taken  by 
our  translators,  and  by  the  great  body  of  interpreters  in  all 
ages.  "  She  at  or  in  Babylon,  co-elect,"  seems  to  be  the 
Christian  society  there. 

It  has  been  disputed  whether  Babylon  is  to  be  understood 
mystically  or  literally  here :  whether  it  means  Rome,  which 
in  the  Apocalypse  is  called  Babylon  ;  or  Jerusalem,  which, 
now  apostate,  better  deserved  that  name  than  her  own,  or 
the  city  in  Chaldea,  so  well  known  both  in  profane  and 
sacred  history.  In  the  absence  of  anything  like  evidence 
on  the  other  side,  we  must  hold  that  whatever  Babylon 
may  signify  in  a  book  full  of  symbols,  here  it  must  be  inter- 
preted just  as  we  do  Pontus,  Galatia,  Cappadocia,  Asia, 
and  Bithynia.  Our  own  city  is  sometimes  called  Athens, 
from  its  situation,  and  from  its  being  a  seat  of  learning  ;  but 
it  would  not  do  to  argue  that  a  letter  came  from  Edinburgh 
because  it  was  dated  from  Athens.  It  is  remarkable  that 
the  Roman  Catholics,  who  are  very  shy  of  admitting  that 
Rome  is  the  Babylon  of  the  Apocalypse,  generally  hold  that 
it  is  referred  to  here.  The  reason  is,  that  if  Babylon  do  not 
mean  Rome  here,  there  is  nothing  in  Scripture  that  can  be 
made  to  look  like  evidence  for  the  fact,  on  which  the  whole 
enormous  fabric  of  the  papal  supremacy  is  built,  that  Rome 
was  at  any  time  the  residence  of  Peter.  So  far  from  being 
able  to  prove  that  the  Pope  is  the  legitimate  successor  of 
Peter  in  a  universal  episcopate,  of  which  Rome,  the  capital 
of  the  world,  was  the  appropriate  seat,  there  is  no  evidence 
in  Scripture  that  he  was  ever  in  that  city;  and  all  that 
ecclesiastical  history  makes  in  some  measure  probable  is, 
that  he  came  there  to  suffer  martyrdom.     Surely  those  who 


PART  II.]  SALUTATION.  411 

can  believe  such  things,  on  such  evidence,  are  given  up  to 
strong  dehisions. 

Allowing  Babylon  to  be  the  proper  name  of  the  place 
referred  to,  it  has  been  questioned  whether  it  refers  to  the 
city  generally  known  both  in  profane  and  sacred  history  by 
that  appellation,  or  Seleucia,  a  city  in  its  neighbourhood, 
on  the  other  side  of  the  Tigris,  which  is  said  sometimes  to 
have  I'eceived  its  name,  or  a  small  garrison  town  in  lEgypt 
known  by  this  appellation.  The  first  opinion  is  the  more 
probable  one,  for  there  is  no  reason  to  think  that  at  this 
time  Babylon,  though  greatly  dilapidated,  was  a  mere  heap 
of  ruins ;  though  I  think  it  very  likely  that  the  word  does 
not  refer  exclusively  to  the  city,  but  to  the  region  known  as 
Babylon  or  Babylonia.^ 

It  is  the  elect  dispersion  of  Babylonia  sending  their  kind 
regards  to  the  co-elected  dispersion  of  Pontus,  Galatia,  Cap- 
padocia,  Asia,  and  Bithynia.  They,  having  "obtained  like 
precious  faith,"  were  "  holy  brethren,  partakers  of  the  hea- 
venly calling,"  co-elect,  equally  with  them  "elect  according 
to  the  foreknowledge  of  God,  spiritually  separated,  obedient 
to  the  faith,  and  sprinkled  with  the  blood  of  Jesus  Christ." 
Genuine  Christians  of  the  most  distant  countries  ought  to 
cherish  the  kindest  affections  towards  each  other,  and  avail 
themselves  of  every  proper  opportunity  of  expressing  them. 
And  Christian  ministers  should  gladly  stir  the  sacred  flame, 
and  give  facilities  for  its  manifestation.  Apostolical  influ- 
ence was  always  employed  in  this  way.  Alas,  how  often 
has  clerical  influence  been  put  forth  in  the  opposite  direc- 
tion !  The  leaders  of  Christ's  people  have  often  made 
them  to  err,  to  wander  from  the  path  of  catholic  unity  and 
love,  and  kept  them  wandering.  "  Blessed  are  the  peace- 
makers." 

1  See  note  A. 


412  POSTSCRIPT  OF  THE  EPISTLE.  [DISC.  XXIV. 

§  2.   The  salutation  of  Marcus. 

But  the  apostle  transmits  the  cordial  good  wishes  not 
only  of  the  church  in  the  region  where  he  was  sojourning 
to  their  brethren  in  Pontus,  Galatia,  Cappadocia,  Asia,  and 
Bithynia,  but  also  the  kind  remembrances  of  an  individual 
Christian  man  and  minister :  "  So  doth  Marcus,  my  son." 
We  know  Peter  was  married,  and  ecclesiastical  tradition 
declares  that  he  had  children;^  but  we  have  no  evidence 
that  he  had  sons,  or  that  any  of  his  sons  were  in  the  Chris- 
tian ministry.  On  the  other  hand,  we  do  know  that  there 
was  a  very  intimate  connection  between  Peter  and  John 
Mark.  We  find  Peter  going  to  his  mother's  house  as  to  his 
ordinary  abode  in  Jerusalem,  after  having  been  miracu- 
lously delivered  from  prison ;  and  all  antiquity  represents 
Mark's  Gospel  as  written  from  information  received  from 
Peter, — a  tradition  carrying  with  it  great  probability,  as 
none  of  the  Gospels  has  more  of  that  circumstantiality  which 
a  narrative  coming  from  an  eye-witness  naturally  possesses ; 
and  whatever  does  Peter  credit  is  rather  cast  into  the  shade, 
while  his  faults  are  very  plainly  stated.^  There  is  nothing 
remarkable  in  Peter  calling  Mark  his  son,  especially  as  it 
is  likely  he  was  the  means  of  his  conversion.  Paul  calls 
Onesimus  his  "son,  begotten  in  his  bonds,"  and  Timothy 
his  "own  son  in  the  faith." ^  "Marcus  my  son"  is  equi- 
valent to,  who  is  to  me  instead  of  a  son,  or,  as  Paul  has  it 
in  reference. to  Timothy,  "  who  serves  with  me  as  a  son  in 
the  gospel."*  It  does  not  appear  that  at  this  time  Mark 
had  ever  seen  the  churches  to  which  Peter  wrote;  but, 

^  Clemens  Alexandrintis  ;  Stromata,  Lib.  iii. 

2  Origen  (Eus.  H.  E.  vi.  25)  declares  that  he  had  learned  from  tradition 
that  Mark  wrote  the  second  Gospel  u;  nirpos  v(pny'^(Ta,To  airf . 
-  Philem.  10  ;  1  Tun.  i.  2. 

*  MapKov  II  t/iov  xara  •^muf^.a  xxXu,  aXX'  oh  koltu.  cru.px.a.. — CECUMENIUS. 


PART  ml  EXHORTATION.  413 

though  strangers  in  the  flesh,  they  were  dear  to  him  in  the 
Lord.  That  Christian  minister  has  not  the  proper  spirit  of 
his  oflice,  who  does  not  cherish  an  affectionate  regard  for 
every  Christian  church,  for  every  Christian  man,  through- 
out the  world. 


III.    EXHORTATION. 

We  come  now  to  the  exhortation  contained  in  this  post- 
script :  "  Greet  ye  one  another  with  a  kiss  of  charity." 
These  words  may  be  understood  generally  as  an  exhorta- 
tion to  mutual  love,  and  to  all  proper  expressions  of  it : 
^  See  that  ye  love  one  another,  and  show  that  ye  love  one 
another ; '  and  in  this  general  sense  they  embody  an  injunc- 
tion obligatory  on  all  Christian  churches  in  all  countries 
and  in  all  ages.  But  there  is  no  reason  to  doubt  that  the 
apostle  meant  the  churches  he  addressed  to  understand  and 
comply  with  the  injunction  in  the  plain  literal  meaning  of 
the  words.  Salutation  by  kissing  was  the  ordinary  way  of 
expressing  friendly  affection  in  those  countries  and  in  that 
age ;  and  the  command  is  not  more  strange  than  if  the 
apostle,  addressing  a  church  in  our  country  and  times,  were 
to  say,  '  Give  to  each  other  the  right  hand  of  fellowship.' 
We  find  similar  advices  given  to  other  churches  :  ^  "  Salute 
one  another  with  a  holy  kiss ; "  ^  "  Greet  ye  one  another 
with  an  holy  kiss  ;  "^  "  Greet  all  the  brethren  with  an  holy 
kiss."  ^  That  the  apostle  meant  the  members  of  the  churches, 
on  receiving  this  epistle,  to  salute  one  another,  is  certain ; 
that  he  meant  that  at  allt  heir  religious  meetings  they  should 
do  so,  is  not  improbable. 

That  he  meant  to  make  this  an  everlasting  ordinance  in 
all  Christian  churches,  though  it  has  sometimes  been  asserted, 

1  Rom.  xvi.  16.  2  j  Cor.  xvi.  20. 

3  2  Cor.  xiii.  12.  M  Tliess.  v.  26. 


414  POSTSCRIPT  OF  THE  EPISTLE.  [DISC.  XXIV. 

has  never  been  proved,  and  is  by  no  means  likely.  That 
the  practice  prevailed  extensively,  perhaps  universally,  in 
the  earlier  ages,  is  established  on  satisfactory  evidence. 
"  After  the  prayers,"  says  Justin  Martyr,  who  lived  in  the 
earlier  part  of  the  second  century,  giving  an  account  in  his 
Apology  of  the  religious  customs  of  the  Christians,  "  after 
the  prayers  we  embrace  each  other  with  a  kiss."  Tertullian 
speaks  of  it  as  an  ordinary  part  of  the  religious  services  of 
the  Lord's  day;  and  in  the  Apostolical  Constitutions,  as 
they  are  termed,  the  manner  in  which  it  was  performed  is 
particularly  described.  "  Then  let  the  men  apart  and  the 
women  apart  salute  each  other  with  a  kiss  in  the  Lord." 
Origen's  note  on  Rom.  xvi.  16  is  :  "  From  this  passage 
the  custom  was  delivered  to  the  churches,  that  after  prayer 
the  brethren  should  salute  one  another  with  a  kiss."  This 
token  of  love  was  generally  given  at  the  Holy  Supper.  It 
was  likely,  from  the  prevalence  of  this  custom,  that  the 
calumny  of  Christians  indulging  in  licentiousness  at  their 
religious  meetings  originated ;  and  it  is  not  improbable 
that,  in  order  to  remove  everything  like  an  occasion  to 
calumniators,  the  practice,  which,  though  in  itself  inno- 
cent, had  become  not  for  the  use  of  edifying,  was  discon- 
tinued. 

Some  Christian  societies  still  retain  the  practice,  and 
even  insist  on  it  as  a  term  of  communion.  We  have  no 
objection  to  the  first ;  but  Ave  must  protest  against  the 
second.  Surely  this  is  not  one  of  the  points  on  which  the 
peace  of  the  Church  should  be  disturbed  or  her  communion 
broken.  They  who  observe  it  should  not  condemn  them 
that  observe  it  not ;  and  they  who  do  not  observe  it  should 
not  despise  them  who  observe  it.  "  Let  each  be  fully  per- 
suaded in  his  own  mind."  In  both  cases,  if  they  are  sincere, 
they  will  be  accepted  of  the  Lord.  The  grand  matter  is 
the  cultivation  of  mutual  love ;  the  mode  of  expressing  it — 


PART  IV. J  BENEDICTION.      .  415 

unless  there  be  distinct  proof,  which,  we  apprehend,  there  is 
not,  that  it  has  been  fixed  by  apostohcal  authority  for  the 
Church  in  all  ages — is  a  matter  of  very  inferior  importance. 
It  seems,  like  every  external  thing  not  essential,  not  ex- 
pressly enjoined  as  a  law  to  the  churches,  a  thing  of  time 
and  place,  depending  on  the  manners  of  the  age  or  country, 
like  the  wearing  or  the  not  wearing  long  hair  at  Corinth. 
A  kiss  of  charity  is  equivalent  to  a  kiss  not  of  mere  form, 
but  expressive  of  real  Christian  affection.^  But  though  the 
external  inode  of  expressing  Christian  love  be  a  matter  com- 
paratively unimportant,  the  importance  of  cherishing  this 
affection,  ay,  and  of  expressing  it  too,  cannot  be  exaggerated. 
"  The  entertainment,  and  increase,  and  expression  of  Chris- 
tian love  is  not  optional,  but  obligatory ;  the  very  stamp  and 
badge  of  Jesus  Christ  upon  his  followers."  And  the  mem- 
bers of  the  same  Christian  church  should  especially  culti- 
vate mutual  brotherly  affection,  and  on  all  proper  occasions 
manifest  it,  by  readily  and  cordially  recognising  one  another 
as  brethren. 

IV.   BENEDICTION. 

It  only  remains  now  that  we  say  a  word  or  two  on  the 
parting  benediction,  "  Peace  be  with  you  all  that  be  in 
Christ  Jesus.  Amen."  It  is  the  all  but  uniform  practice 
of  the  apostles  both  to  begin  and  end  their  epistles  with 
prayers  and  benedictions.  Peter  began  his  epistle  with  the 
prayer,  "  Grace  unto  you,  and  peace  be  multiplied ;"  and  he 
ends  with  the  prayer,  "  Peace  be  with  you  all  that  are  in 
Christ  Jesus."  The  apostles  exemplified  their  own  precepts, 
to  "pray  always,"  to  "pray  without  ceasing."  To  pray 
for  Christian  brethren  is  one  of  the  most  natural  modes  of 
expressing  Christian  affection ;  as  Christians  are  "  taught 
^  See  note  B. 


416  POSTSCRIPT  OF  THE  EPISTLE.  [DISC.  XXIV. 

of  God^  to  love  one  another,"  they  are  also  taught  of  God 
to  pray  for  one  another, 

"  Peace"  is  a  word  expressive  of  whatever  is  necessary  to 
happiness.  Peace  be  to  you,  is  just  equivalent  to,  May 
you  be  happy.  When  the  man  is  happy,  the  mind  is  tran- 
quil. The  unhappy  man  has  a  disturbed,  unquiet,  agitated 
mind.  The  import  of  the  wish,  "  Peace  be  with  you,"  de- 
pends on  the  views  of  the  person  who  utters  it.  In  the 
mouth  of  a  well-informed  Christian  it  means,  May  you 
have  all  the  happiness  which  flows  from  possessing,  and 
knowing  that  you  possess,  that  favour  of  God  which  is  life, 
that  loving-kindness  which  is  better  than  life;  from  the 
conscience  being  sprinkled  with  the  blood  of  atonement; 
from  the  heart  being  renewed  by  the  Holy  Ghost;  from 
the  mind  being  fixed  in  the  belief  of  the  truth ;  from  the 
faith  of  the  exceeding  great  and  precious  promises ;  from 
the  hope  of  the  salvation  that  is  in  Christ  with  eternal 
glory.  May  you  "  want  no  good  thing."  May  you  "  be 
kept  in  perfect  peace."  May  "  the  peace  of  God  keep 
your  hearts  and  minds  through  Christ  Jesus."  May  "  the 
Lord  of  peace  himself  give  you  peace  always  by  all  means."  ^ 
This  prayer  the  apostle  presents  for  all  the  elect  strangers, 
as  being  "  in  Christ  Jesus," — so  closely  related  to  Christ 
Jesus  as  to  be,  as  it  were,  identified  with  him,  having  fellow- 
ship with  him  in  his  death,  his  resurrection,  his  new  life, 
his  honours,  his  happiness ;  living  in  him,  animated  by  his 
spirit,  walking  in  him,  sustained  by  his  grace,  imitating  his 
example,  regulated  by  his  laws,  being  his  living  images,  his 
"  epistles  seen  and  read  of  all  men." 

This  is  an  expression  of  the  love  of  a  Christian  man  to 
Christian  men,  and  is  a  wish  that  they  may  enjoy  in  abun- 
dance   Christian   happiness.     It  is  they  only  who  are  in 
Christ  Jesus  that  can  enjoy  the  peace  which  the  apostle 
1  eioV.'ia.x.ro,.  2  pi^ii.  {y_  7  .  o  Tliess.  iii.  16. 


PART  IV.]  BENEDICTION.  417 

here  invokes.  There  is  no  peace  of  this  kind  to  them  who 
are  not  in  Christ  Jesus.  To  all  who  are  not  in  him  there 
is  condemnation :  "  There  is  no  peace,  saith  my  God,  to 
the  wicked."  It  is  they  who  believe  in  Christ,  and  who 
are  thus  united  to  him,  that  can  enter  into  peace.  To  quote 
once  more  the  devout  Archbishop,  from  whom  I  part  with 
reluctance  as  from  a  pious  accomplished  friend,  who  has 
been  my  insti'uctive  and  delightful  companion  during  my 
leisurely  journey  through  this  most  fertile  region  of  the 
world  of  inspiration,  and  to  whom  I  am  much  indebted  for 
turning  my  attention  to  some  of  its  more  recondite  beauties, 
and  for  gathering  for  me,  and  for  you,  some  of  its  sweetest 
flowers  and  richest  fruits :  "  They  that  are  in  Christ  are 
the  only  children  and  heirs  of  true  peace.  Others  may 
dream  of  it,  and  have  a  false  peace  for  a  time,  and  wicked 
men  may  wish  it  to  themselves  and  to  one  another,  but  it  is 
a  most  vain  hope  and  thought ;  but  to  wish  it  to  them  who 
are  in  Christ  Jesus  hath  good  ground.  All  solid  peace  is 
founded  on  him,  and  flows  from  him."  All  who  are  in 
Christ  have  peace.  "  Being  justified  by  faith,  they  have 
joeace."  But  the  apostle's  prayer  is,  that  their  peace  may 
be  multiplied,  preserved,  increased  ;  that  their  peace  may  be 
as  a  river,  and  their  happiness  as  the  waves  of  the  sea ;  that 
they  may  grow  in  holy  happiness  till  they  become  perfectly 
happy,  because  perfectly  holy ;  having  the  peace  of  God, 
because  having  the  purity  of  God ;  "  peace,  quietness, 
assurance  for  ever." 

The  peculiar  expression,  "  Peace  be  with  you  all  who  are 
in  Christ  Jesus,"  seems  to  intimate  that  there  might  be 
among  them  some  who  were  not  in  Christ  Jesus.  It  was 
so  in  the  primitive  age  as  well  as  now.  All  were  not  in 
Christ  who  bore  his  name.  To  those  men  continuing  in 
that  state,  there  is,  there  can  be,  no  peace,  no  true  peace. 
They  may,  they  do  say,  Peace,  peace  to  themselves ;  but 

VOL.  III.  2  D 


418  POSTSCRIPT  OF  THE  EPISTLE.  [DISC,  XXIV. 

the  Christian  minister  dares  not  say,  Peace  to  them.  He 
wishes — oh  how  eagerly  ! — their  salvation  ;  but  he  expects 
this  only  in  the  destruction  of  their  false  peace.  His  call 
to  them  is,  "  Let  sinners  in  Zion  be  afraid ;"  and  his  prayer 
to  God  is,  that  he  may  disturb  their  peace,  shake  them 
with  salutary  terror,  chase  them  out  of  all  the  "  refuges  of 
lies  "  in  which  they  are  so  apt  to  seek  and  find  shelter,  and 
never  allow  them  to  be  at  peace,  till,  "  being  justified  by 
faith,  they  have  peace  with  God  through  our  Lord  Jesus 
Christ ;"  and  that  they  may  never  know  what  hope  is  till 
they  "  have  fled  for  refuge  to  lay  hold  on  the  hope  set  before 
them  in  the  gospel." 

The  apostle  concludes  his  benedictory  prayer  with  the 
emphatic  Hebrew  word  Ainen,  expressive  at  once  of  desire 
and  expectation.  '  May  it  be  so.'  '  It  shall  be  so.'  He 
could  not  but  wish  it ;  for  he  loved  them  :  and  he  could 
not  but  expect  it ;  for  it  is  one  of  those  promises  which 
"  are  all  yea  and  amen  in  Christ  Jesus  to  the  glory  of  God 
by  us."     "  The  Lord  will  bless  his  people  with  peace."  ^ 

And  now,  brethren,  I  have  finished  these  Expository 
Discourses  on  this  important  and  interesting  part  of  divine 
truth.  It  is  more  than  sixteen  years  since  I  commenced 
them.  Of  those  avIio  witnessed  their  commencement,  many 
are  in  another,  not  a  few  of  them,  I  doubt  not,  in  a  better 
world.  We  must  soon  go  to  them  in  the  grave.  Oh,  let 
us  see  that  we  also  go  to  them  in  heaven.  It  is  in  a  very 
high  degree  improbable  that  I  shall  ever  deliver  to  you 
again  so  long  a  series  of  discourses  ;  a  solemn  reflection 
both  to  me  and  to  you.  It  says  to  me,  "  Make  full  proof 
of  thy  ministry  ;"  it  draws  to  a  close:  "work  while  it  is 
called  to-day ;  the  night  cometh  when  no  man  can  work." 
"  Prepare  to  meet  thy  God."     "  The  Judge  standeth  before 

1  2  Cor.  i.  30;  Ps.  xxix.  11. 


DISC.  XXIV.]  NOTES.  419 

tlie  door."  Make  up  tliy  account ;  thou  canst  not  long 
continue  a  steward.  And  to  you  it  says,  "  To-day,  if  ye 
will  hear  my  voice,  harden  not  your  hearts.  Now  is  the 
accepted  time ;  now  is  the  day  of  salvation." 

My  work  in  composing  and  delivering  these  discourses, 
and  yours  in  listening  to  them,  are  over ;  but  there  remain 
the  improvement  which  ought  to  be  made,  and  the  account 
which  must  be  given.  The  first  will,  I  trust,  follow ;  the 
second  certainly  shall.  It  is  by  attending  to  the  first  that 
we  shall  be  prepared  for  the  second.  For  this,  as  for  all 
means  of  religious  improvement,  we  must  ere  long  give 
account.  Oh  that  it  may  be  given  with  joy,  and  not  with 
grief  !  "  The  Lord  grant"  that  both  the  teacher  and  the 
taught  may,  notwithstanding  all  that  has  been  wanting  and 
wrong  in  the  manner  in  which  they  have  performed  their 
respective  parts, — "  the  Lord  grant  that  we  may  find  mercy 
of  the  Lord  in  that  day."^     Amen. 


Note  A.  p.  411. 


"  Explodatnr  figurata,  admittatur  literalis  expositio." — Pear- 
son, de  Slice.  Bom.  Ejnsc. 

"  Babylona  proprie  accipio  pro  celebri  ilia  Assyrite  urbe." — 
Beza.  "  Babylon  hie  baud  dubie  est  urbs  ilia  Chalda?fe  iibi 
Petrus  circumcisionis  Apostolus  prsdicavit.  Nulla  enim  est 
causa,  cur  RomEe  nomen  dissimularet." — Pareus. 

"  Cur  Babylon  in  Italia  potius  aut  in  Egypto,  quam  in  Meso- 
potamia, sit  quEerenda,  causam  non  video." — Wetstein. 

"  Multi  ex  vcteribus  Eomam  renigmatice  pntarunt  notari. 
Hoc  commentum  Papistas  libenter  arripiiint,  ut  videatur  Petrus 
Eomanas  Ecclesice  prtefuisse.  Neque  enim  deterret  eos  infamia 
nominis,  modo  sedis  ApostolicEe ,  titukmi  pra^texere  ipsis  liceat ; 
nee  Christum  magnopere  curant,  modo  Petrus  ipsis  relinquatur. 
1  2  Tim.  i.  IS. 


420  NOTES.  [DISC.  XXIV. 

Quinetiam,  modo  retineant  Cathedram  Petri  nomen,  suam  Eo- 
mam  in  profundis  inferis  collocare  non  recusabunt.  Atqui  vetus 
illud  commentum  nihil  habet  colons." — Calvhst.  There  is  his- 
torical evidence  that  Seleucia  was  built  out  of  the  ruins  of 
ancient  Babylon,  and  was  known  in  the  apostolic  age  under  its 
name. — Conder  :   Literary  History  of  the  Neio  Testament^  p.  177. 

Note  B.  p.  415. 

"  Osculo  sancto,  osculo  vero,  osculo  pacifico,  osculo  colum- 
bino,  non  subdolo,  non  poUuto." — Beda.  "  Non  adulatoria  sicut 
Absolon  osculabatur  populum,  non  simulatorio  sicut  Joab  Ania- 
sam,  non  proditoi'io  sicut  Judas  Dominum,  non  impudico  sicut 
mulier  adultera  juvenem,  sed  osculo  sancto,  quod  est  caritatis 
signum  et  ejus  fomentum." — Lyra.  "  Osculo,  non  suavio  quod 
voluptatis  est,  sed  osculo  quod  religionis  ;  osculo  caritatis,  osculo 
sancto,  osculo  in  Domino  Jesu :  quale  prisco  ecclesiae  ritu,  cum 
super  ccenam  Dominican!,  tum  die  Paschatis  festo,  turn  in  ordi- 
nationibus  sacris,  pie  olim  et  pudice  dabatur  et  reddebatur," — 
Bentley. 

"  The  fraternal  kiss  with  which  every  one,  after  being  bap- 
tized, was  received  into  the  community  by  the  Christians  into 
whose  immediate  fellowship  he  entered — which  the  members 
bestowed  on  each  other  just  before  the  celebration  of  the  com- 
munion, and  with  which  every  Christian  saluted  his  brother, 
though  he  never  saw  him  before — was  not  an  empty  form,  but 
the  expression  of  Christian  feelings  ;  a  token  of  the  relation  in 
which  Christians  conceived  themselves  to  stand  to  each  other. 
It  was  this  indeed  which,  in  a  cold  and  selfish  age,  struck  the 
pagans  with  wonder  :  to  behold  men  of  different  countries,  ranks, 
stages  of  culture,  so  intimately  bound  together ;  to  see  the 
stranger  who  came  into  a  city,  and  by  his  letter  of  recognition 
(his  "Epistola  formata'),  made  himself  known  to  the  Christians 
of  the  place  as  a  brother  beyond  suspicion,  finding  at  once 
among  them,  to  whom  he  was  personally  luiknown,  all  manner 
of  brotherly  sympathy  and  protection." — Neander  :  Gen.  Hist, 
of  the  Christ.  Relig.  and  the  Churchy  Torry's  Translation,  vol.  i. 
sec.  iii.  p.  347. 


INDEX. 


I.— PEINCIPAL  MATTERS. 


Affliction,  two  views  of,  iii.  283 ; 
its  duties,  293 ;  motives  to  the 
performance  of  them,  298 ;  is  a 
state  of  carefulness,  308. 

Amen,  import  of,  iii.  418. 

Angels,  subjection  of,  to  Christ, 
ii.  487 ;  is  the  result  of  his 
expiatory  sufferings,  489 ;  study 
the  final  happiness  of  Christians, 
i.  100. 

Antediluvian  history,  facts  in,  ii. 
502 ;  object  of  the  apostle  in 
referring  to,  509; — revelations, 
505 ; — worlds,  analogies  of  post- 
diluvian and,  510. 

Apostles,  characteristic  features  of, 
i.  14;  had  no  successors,  16. 

Ascension  of  Christ  to  heaven  the 
result  of  his  expiatory  sufferings, 
ii.  484. 

Atonement,  the,  connection  of 
sanctification  with,  i.  156;  fel- 
lowship with  God  obtained 
through,  ii.  443 ;  exhortation  to 
holiness  based  on,  iii.  1. 

Babes,    new-born,    illustration   of 

the  figure,  i.  191. 
Babylon,  the  church  in,  iii.  409. 
Baptism,  the  deluge  was  a  type  of, 

ii.  513;  how  it  saves,  515. 
"Bearing   sins,"   meaning   of   the 

phrase,  ii.  178. 
Bishop,   meaning  of  the  term,   ii. 

187. 
Blessings  of  salvation,  God  is  the 

author  of,  i.  51 ;  originate  in  the 

abundant  mercy  of  God,  56 ;  are 


of  vast  magnitude,  58 ;  proper 
method  of  acknowledging,  59. 

Brotherhood,  the,  who  are,  ii.  94 ; 
have  a  common  character,  96 ; 
common  education,  97  ;  common 
residence,  97  ;  common  inherit- 
ance, 97  ;  fellowship  of,  99 ; 
Christians  must  show  their  love 
of,  103;  by  joining  it,  104;  by 
regular  attendance,  104;  by  en- 
deavouring to  preserve  its  purity, 
105 ;  by  seeking  its  peace,  106 ; 
by  their  prayers,  108  ;  duty  to 
a  particular  brotherhood,  109  ; 
duty  of  Christian  brotherhoods 
to  other  Christian  brotherhoods, 
111 ;  address  to  those  who  do 
not  belong  to,  1 14. 

Brotherly  love,  illustrated,  i.  165 ; 
objects  and  elements  of,  166 ; 
distinctive  characters  of,  168  ; 
recommended,  174;  by  the  mu- 
tual relation  of  Christians,  175; 
by  the  common  character  of 
Christians,  178  ;  the  mainte- 
nance of,  explained,  iii.  91 ;  and 
recommended,  97  ;  manifesta- 
tion of,  by  employing  property, 
110;  by  employing  spiritual  gifts, 
119;  motives  to  the  manifesta- 
tion of,  128. 

Called  to  show  forth  the  praises  of 
God,  Christians  are,  i.  312;  what 
is  this  calling?  315;  who  is  its 
author?  316;  what  is  the  design 
of  it?  316;  show  them  forth 
passively,    317 ;    and    actively, 


422 


INDEX. 


319  ;  address  to  those  who  are 
not  among  the  called,  323 ; — out 
of  darkness,  Christians  are,  325. 

Calumnies  against  the  Christians, 
Note,  i.  371. 

"Ceased  from  sin,"  meaning  of 
the  phrase,  iii.  22.     See  Flesh. 

Cephas,  meaning  of  the  name,  i.  8. 

Character,  common,  of  Christians, 
a  motive  to  brotherly  love,  i.  178. 

Christ,  meaning  of  the  term,  ii. 
381  ;  is  the  foundation  of  the 
spiritual  temple,  i.  257 ;  is  the 
great  object  of  his  people's 
affections,  i.  64. 

Christian  salvation,  grandeur,  ex- 
cellence, and  security  of,  a  mo- 
tive to  Christian  duty,  i.  137. 

Christians,  present  and  future  state 
of,  contrasted,  i.  61 ;  as  to  the 
absence  and  presence  of  Christ, 
64 ;  as  to  trials  and  their  results, 
70 ;  as  to  exjiectation  and  enjoy- 
ment, 74;  as  to  sorrows  and 
joys,  76 ;  the  final  happiness  of, 
is  the  subject  of  Old  Testament 
prophecy,  83  ;  and  of  apostolical 
preaching,  93 ;  and  of  angelic 
study,  lUO ;  mutual  relation  of, 
175;  common  character  of,  178; 
state  and  character  of,  described 
generally,  189 ;  and  under  the 
figure  of  new-born  babes,  191 ; 
exhortation  to,  199 ;  dissixasive, 
200 ;  persuasive,  207 ;  the  two 
parts  are  closely  connected  with 
each  other,  222 ;  peculiar  privi- 
leges of,  241 ;  miserable  condition 
of,  previously  to  their  obtaining 
those  privileges,  246  ;  manner  in 
which  they  were  obtained,  252 ; 
are  called  living  stones,  272 ;  a 
holy  priesthood,  274 ;  and  a 
chosen  generation,  279 ;  have 
obtained  mercy,  336  ;  are  the 
servants  of  Grod,  ii.  13. 

Church,  Christian,  constitution  of, 
iii.  240;  is  the  flock  of  God, 
226 ;  and  God's  heritage,  227. 

Civil  government,  nature  and 
design  of,  i.  376 ;  is  called  a 
' '  creature, "  not  an  ' '  ordinance, " 


380 ;  subjection  to,  383 ;  how 
limited,  387  ;  Christ's  command- 
ment concerning,  389;  Christ's 
example  concerning,  391. 

"Coming  to  Christ,"  meaning  of 
the  phrase,  i.  252. 

Conjugal  duties  of  Christians,  ii. 
191 ;  of  wives,  195 ;  of  husbands, 
222.     See  Husbands  and  Wives. 

Conscience,  a  good,  what  it  is,  ii. 
351 ;  must  be  sprinkled  by  the 
blood  of  Christ,  350. 

Consolation,  the  epistle  abounds 
in,  i.  4. 

Conversation,  meaning  of  the  term, 
i.  117;  a  good,  in  Christ,  ex- 
plained, ii.  360. 

Courtesy  enjoined,  ii.  279 ;  origin 
of  the  term,  280 ;  not  to  be  con- 
founded with  artificial  polish  of 
manners,  283 ;  commensurate 
with  our  social  relations,  285 ; 
consistent  with  truth  and  in- 
tegrity, 285 ;  enjoined  by  the 
highest  authority,  287  ;  enforced 
by  the  example  of  Christ,  287 ; 
Abraliam,  288 ;  Sarah,  288 ; 
Paul,  290. 

"Covereth  a  multitude  of  sins," 
the  phrase  explained,  iii.  99. 

Cruelty  of  the  devil,  iii.  344. 

Darkness,  Christians  are  called  out 
of,  i.  325 ;  what  it  is,  327 ;  illus- 
trated by  the  midnight  darkness 
of  Egypt,  326. 

Dead,  the  spiritually,  who  are,  iii. 
58;  the  gosjjel  is  preached  to, 
59. 

Deluge,  the,  was  a  type  of  baptism, 
ii.  513 ;  state  of  mankind  previous 
to,  503. 

Desire  of  the  milk  of  the  word 
described,  i.  219. 

Devil,  the,  iii.  336  ;  is  an  adversary, 
338,  subtle,  340;  active,  342; 
cruel,  344 ;  powerful,  345 ;  the 
Christian's  duty  in  reference  to, 
349 ;  to  resist  his  attacks  on 
himself,  350 ;  and  on  the  Chris- 
tian cause,  352 ;  what  the  Chris- 
tian is  to  do  that  he  may  resist, 


INDEX. 


423 


354;  encouragement  to  perform 
this  tUxty,  363. 

Doxologj^  iii.  130. 

Dress,  duty  of  Christian  wives  in 
reference  to,  ii.  200. 

Duties  of  Christians  to  each  other, 
ii.  247  ;  union  of  sentiment,  248  ; 
union  of  feeling,  257  ;  brotherly 
kindness,  259 ;  to  mankind  gene- 
rally, 265;  pity,  265;  courtesy, 
279 ;  to  give  a  reason  of  the 
hope  that  is  in  them,  331 ;  to 
maintain  a  good  conscience  and 
a  good  conversation,  351. 

Duty,  Christian,  i.  105;  general 
view  of.  111 ;  particular  view  of, 
115  ;  means  for  the  perfol-mance 
of,  118;  determined  resolution, 
119;  moderation,  122;  hope,  126; 
fear,  132 ;  motives  to  the  per- 
formance of,  136. 

Ecclesiastical  duties  enjoined,  iii. 
ISO. 

Elder,  faithful,  reward  of,  iii.  229 ; 
unfaithful,  doom  of,  232. 

Elders,  origin  and  meaning  of  the 
appellation,  iii.  182;  divided  into 
the  teaching  and  the  ruling,  IBS ; 
qualifications  of,  189 ;  manner  of 

•  investing  with  office,  190;  are 
called  shepherds  and  overseers, 
191 ;  duties  of,  193 ;  instruction, 
194 ;  superintendence,  200 ;  man- 
ner of  performing  their  duties, 
205  ;  not  by  constraint,  206 ;  not 
for  filthy  lucre,  209 ;  not  as  lords 
of  God's  heritage,  213 ;  motives 
suggested  by  the  apostle's  re- 
ference to  himself,  218 ;  drawn 
from  considerations  referring  to 
the  church,  226 ;  and  to  the 
office-bearers  themselves,  229. 

Elect,  meaning  of  the  term,  i.  IS  ; 
stone,  265.     See  Foundation. 

Election,  double  sense  of  the  term 
in  Scripture,  i.  282. 

"End  of  all  things,"  meaning  of 
the  phrase,  iii.  82. 

Enemy,  great,  of  the  Christian, 
who  he  is,  iii.  336 ;  what  he  is, 
338. 


Envy,  warnings  against,  i.  202. 

Epistle,  First,  of  Peter,  character 
of,  by  Leighton,  i.  2 ;  Erasmus, 
Grotius,  and  Bengel,  3  ;  authen- 
ticity and  genuineness  of,  3 ; 
resemblance  to  Paul's  Epistles, 
3;  holds  an  intermediate  place 
between  those  of  Paul  and  James, 
5 ;  abounds  in  consolation,  4 ; 
date,  5 ;  object,  6 ;  to  whom 
addressed,  17  ;  salutation,  23  ; 
references  to  the  Old  Testament 
in,  25 ;  postscript,  iii.  395 ;  re- 
capitulation, 397 ;  form,  402 ; 
subject,  398 ;  mode  of  wrriting 
or  transmission,  406 ;  salutation, 
409;  benediction,  415. 

Epistolary  part  of  Scripture,  ad- 
vantages of,  i.  2. 

Equity  of  God,  a  motive  to  Chris- 
tian duty,  i.  145. 

Evangelists,  their  office,  iii.  185. 

Evidence  of  Christianity,  im- 
portance of  a  knowledge  of,  ii. 
344. 

Evil-speaking,  warnings  against,  i. 
202. 

Exaltation  of  Christ,  ii.  475;  his 
resurrection,  476 ;  ascension  to 
heaven,  481 ;  sitting  on  the  right 
hand  of  God,  484;  placed  over 
angels,  487. 

Example  of  Christ,  how  far  bind- 
ing on  us  as  a  pattern,  ii.  167.' 

Exhortation  to  Christians,  dis- 
suasive, i.  200 ;  persuasive,  207  ; 
to  seek  spiritual  growth,  208 ;  to 
desire  the  sincere  milk  of  the 
word,  216; — to  holiness,  based 
on  the  atonement,  iii.  1 ;  not  to 
live  to  the  lusts  of  men,  12 ;  to 
live  to  the  will  of  God,  17. 

Expiatory  sufferings  of  Christ,  the 
design  of,  ii.  182;  effects  of,  185; 
connection  of  sanctification  with, 
i.  156. 

"Fadeth  not  away,"  meaning  of 

the  phrase,  i.  40. 
Faith,  obedience  of,  i.  21. 
' '  Faithful  Creator, "  import  of  the 

expression,  iii.  168. 


424 


INDEX. 


Fear  of  God,  a  means  of  Christian 
obedience,  i.  132 ;  the  foundation 
of,  ii.  115;  produced  by  the 
faith  of  the  gospel,  122 ;  how 
manifested,  123 ;  the  best  means 
of  guarding  against  the  fear  of 
man,  316. 

Fellowship  wath  God  explained,  ii. 
443 ;  obtained  through  the  atone- 
ment, 444. 

Fervently,  meaning  of  the  term,  i. 
169. 

"Flesh,  he  that  hath  suffered  in 
the, "  iii.  22 ;  the  thought  ex- 
plained, 25 ;  viewed  as  referring 
to  Christ,  28  ;  as  referring  to 
Christians,  30 ;  as  a  piece  of 
Christian  armour,  34. 

Fleshly  lusts,  abstinence  from,  i. 
356 ;  what  they  are,  356 ;  what 
must  be  done  in  order  to  abstain 
from,  358 ;  to  indulge  in,  in- 
congruous in  a  child  of  God, 
367 ;  how  they  war  against  the 
soul,  368. 

Flock  of  God,  the  church  is  the, 
iii.  226. 

Foreknowledge  of  God,  i.  20. 

Foundation  of  the  spiritual  temple, 
the,  Jesus  Christ  is,  i.  257,  264; 
is  a  corner-stone,  205  ;  is  chosen, 
265 ;  is  precious,  266 ;  was  re- 
jected by  men,  267 ;  is  a  living 
stone,  268. 

Free,  Christians  are,  ii.  1 ;  in  re- 
ference to  God,  2 ;  to  man,  7  ;  to 
the  powers  and  principles  of  evil, 
10;  they  are  to  act  as,  19,  20, 
25,  32. 

Freedom,  the  Christian's  duty  to 
guard  against  the  abuse  of,  ii. 
37 ;  in  reference  to  God,  40 ;  to 
man,  46  ;  to  the  powers  and 
principles  of  evil,  51. 

Friendly  temper  or  behaviour,  a, 
described,  i.  168. 

Generation,  a  chosen,  why  Chris- 
tians are  called,  i.  279. 

"Gifts,"  meaning  of  the  term,  iii. 
119. 

Glory   of   God,   a  regard   to,   'the 


highest  motive  to  duty,  iii.  129; 
of  Christ,  145. 

God,  the  author  of  all  saving  bless- 
ings, i.  51  ;  as  the  God  and 
Father  of  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ, 
54 ;  abundant  mercy  of,  56 ; 
holiness  of,  a  motive  to  Chris- 
tian duty,  141. 

Gosjiel,  the,  is  j)reached  to  the 
spiritually  dead,  iii.  59. 

Grace  of  God,  the,  one  great  sub- 
ject of  the  epistle,  iii.  398. 

Grotius,  ingenious  conjecture  of, 
i.  380. 

Growth,  spiritual,  is  progressive 
sanctification,  i.  213;  resem- 
blance of,  to  the  growth  of  a 
child,  214;  motives  to,  from  the 
state  and  character  of  Christians, 
227  ;  from  having  tasted  that  the 
Lord  is  gracious,  232. 

Guile,  warnings  against,  i.  201. 

Happiness,  final,  of  Christians,  the 
subject  of  Old  Testament  pro- 
phecy, i.  83  ;  of  apostolical 
preachuig,  93 ;  of  angelic  study, 
100. 

"  Healed  by  Christ's  stripes," 
meaning  of  the  phrase,  ii.  185. 

Heritage  of  God,  the  church  is  the, 
iii.  227. 

History,  Old  Testament,  uses  of, 
ii.  499. 

Holiness,  exhortation  to,  based  on 
the  atonement,  iii.  1 ;  motives 
to,  drawn  from  the  character  of 
the  will  of  the  Gentiles,  47  ; 
from  the  great  design  of  the 
gospel  revelation,  57. 

Holiness  of  God,  the,  a  motive  to 
Christian  duty,  i.  141. 

"Holy  nation,"  meaning  of  the 
phrase,  i.  295. 

"Holy  One,"  import  of  the  appel- 
lation as  applied  to  God,  ii.  322. 

"Holy  priesthood,"  meaning  of 
the  phrase,  i.  274. 

Holy  Scriptures,  fiilness  of,  ii.  369 ; 
difficulties  of,  449;  not  syste- 
matic, but  miscellaneous  in  their 
form,  i.  1. 


INDEX. 


425 


Honour  due  to  all  mep,  ii.  75 ;  not 
to  be  confined  to  tlie  brother- 
hood, 76  ;  nor  to  classes,  81 ; 
foundation  of,  82;  evil  conse- 
quences of  the  want  of,  84 ; 
motives  from  the  example  of 
God,  88 ;  and  of  Christ,  89. 

"Honour  the  king,"  what  is  im- 
plied in,  ii.  125 ;  its  foundation, 
127 ;  its  limits,  128. 

Hope,  Christian,  groiind  of,  i.  43 ; 
how  produced,  44 ;  connected 
with  the  faith  of  the  gospel,  46 ; 
why  called  living,  47  ;  connected 
with  the  resurrection  of  Christ, 
49;  a  means  of  Christian  obe- 
dience, 126 ;  the  profession  of, 
is  positively  enjoined,  ii.  338 ; 
"maketh  not  ashamed,"  and 
why,  i.  48. 

Hospitality,  what  it  is  not,  iii.  110; 
what  it  is,  112  ;  of  the  primitive 
Christians,  114. 

"House  of  God,"  meaning  of  the 
phrase,  iii.  165. 

Humility  enjoined,  ii.  295 ;  ex- 
plained, iii.  267 ;  tendency  of, 
to  secure  mutual  subjection,  270 ; 
motives  to,  271. 

Husbands,  Christian,  duties  of, 
ii.  222 ;  motives  to  the  discharge 
of,  235. 

Hypocrisy,  warnings  against,  i.  202. 

"Incorruptible,"   meaning  of  the 

term,  i.  39. 
Inheritance  of   God's  children,   i. 

36 ;  free  gift  of,  38 ;  security  of 

tenure,    38 ;  excellence   of,    39 ; 

living  hope  of,  42. 
"Inner  man  of  the  heart,"  import 

of,  ii.  204. 
Instruction  one   of  the  duties  of 

Christian  elders,  iii.  194. 
Intoxicating  liquors,  tendency  and 

effects  of,  iii.  72. 

"Kingdom  of  priests,"  meaning 
of  the  appellation,  i.  290. 

Law,  difference  as  a  covenant  and 
a  rule,  ii.  41. 


Light,  marvellous,  Christians  are 

called  into,  i.  328 ;  of  knowledge, 

328 ;  of  purity,  329 ;  of  rational 

joy,    330;    why    termed    God's 

light,  331. 
' '  Live   according  to   God   in   the 

spirit,"  meaning  of  the  phrase, 

iii.  61. 
"Living  stone,"  meaning  of  the 

phrase  as  applied  to   Christ,    i. 

268. 
"Living  stones,"  meaning  of  the 

phrase  as  applied  to  Christians, 

i.  255,  272. 
"Loins  of  the  mind,"  girding  up 

of,  i.  119. 
Love,    brotherly.      See    Brotherly 

Love. 
"Lusts  of  men,  not  to  live  to," 

meaning  of  the  phrase,  iii.  15. 
Lusts,  fleshly.     See  Fleshly  Lusts. 

"Maketh  not  ashamed,"  i.  48. 

Malice,  warnings  against,  i.  200. 

Manifestation,  of  brotherly  love, 
iii.  109;  of  the  fear  of  God,  ii. 
123. 

Mankind,  state  of,  previous  to  the 
deluge,  ii.  503. 

Marcus,  notice  of,  iii.  412. 

"  Marry  in  the  Lord,"  meaning  of 
the  phrase,  ii.  210. 

"  Man^ellous  light. "     See  Liffht. 

Means  for  performing  Christian 
duty.     See  Duty. 

Members  of  the  church,  duties  of 
the,  to  their  office-bearers,  iii. 
235  ;  subjection  to  the  elders  as 
teachers,  246  ;  submission  to 
them  as  superintendents,  249 ; 
duties  to  each  other,  257. 

Mercy,  of  God,  the  moving  cause 
of  saving  blessings,  i.  56 ;  Chris- 
tians have  obtained,  336  ;  ad- 
dress to  those  who  have  ob- 
tained, 340 ;  and  to  those  who 
have  not  obtained,  340. 

"Mighty  hand  of  God,"  meaning 
of  the  expression,  iii.  287 ;  duty 
of  humbling  ourselves  under  it, 
,293 ;  motives  to  do  so,  298. 

Milk,  why  spiritual  truth  is  com- 


426 


INDEX. 


pared  to,  i.  218;  of  the  word, 
what  it  is,  216  ;  how  we  grow  by 
it,  218;  what  it  is  to  desire  it, 
219. 

Miserable  condition  of  Christians, 
previously  to  obtaining  their 
peculiar  pri\dleges,  i.  246. 

Misery  of  those  who  refuse  to 
come  to  Christ,  i.  342. 

Moderation,  a  means  of  Christian 
obedience,  i.  122. 

Morality,  Christian,  bearing  on  the 
evidences  of  Christianity,  i.  376. 

Motives  to  the  performance  of 
Christian  duty,  i.  136  ;  from  the 
grandeur,  excellence,  and  secu- 
rity of  the  Christian  salvation, 
137 ;  from  the  holiness  of  God, 
141 ;  from  the  strict  equity  of 
God,  145 ;  from  the  provision 
made  for  sanctification  in  the 
sacrifice  of  Christ,  152 ;  to 
spiritual  growth,  227 ;  to  holi- 
ness, iii.  46.     See  Holiness. 

Mutual  relation  of  Christians,  i.  175. 

Mutual  subjection  the  diity  of 
church  members,  iii.  259 ;  what 
this  implies,  261 ;  what  it  does 
not  imply,  259. 

Nation,  a  holy,  why  Christians  are 

called,  i.  295. 
Noah,   his  character,   ii.   505;  his 

preaching,  505. 

Obedience,  Christian,  i.  Ill;  means 
for  the  performance  of,  118. 

Obedience,  the  duty  of  servants, 
ii.  144 ;  its  limits,  144. 

"Obedience  of  faith,"  meaning  of 
the  phrase,  i.  21. 

"  Obtained  mercy,"  Christians 
have,  i.  336. 

Old  Testament  prophecy  as  to  the 
final  hapyjiness  of  Christians,  i. 
83  ;  Enoch,  86 ;  Job,  87  ;  Psalms, 
87 ;  Isaiah,  Daniel,  Hosea,  and 
Malachi,  88  ;  was  imperfectly 
understood  by  the  prophets 
themselves,  89. 

"Ordinance  of  man,"  meaning  of 
the  ijhrase,  i.  380. 


Partakers  of  the  sufi'erings  of 
Christ,  in  what  sense  Christians 
are,  iii.  141. 

Pastor,  meaning  and  reference  of 
the  appellation,  iii.  185. 

Patient  suffering.  Christians  are 
called  to,  as  a  part  of  conformity 
to  Christ,  ii.  159;  as  a  great 
end  of  Christ's  expiatory  suffer- 
ings, 175. 

Peace,  meaning  of  the  term,  i.  24. 

Peculiar  people,  a,  why  Christians 
are  called,  i.  303. 

"People  of  God,"  meaning  of  the 
term,  i.  332. 

Persecution,  good  effects  of,  iii. 
136 ;  duties  of  Christians  under, 
ii.  298  ;  motives,  304 ;  Christians 
are  called  to  this  course,  304 ; 
blessing  which  attends,  308  ; 
tendency  of  the  course  recom- 
mended to  secure  from  suffering, 
310. 

Perseverance  necessary,  iii.  19. 

Peter,  history  and  character  of,  i. 
7-14. 

"  Pilgrims  and  strangers,"  force  of 
the  appellation  as  applied  to 
Christians,  i.  306. 

Pitiful,  Christians  are  enjoined  to 
be,  ii.  265  ;  for  the  spiritual 
wants  of  men,  270 ;  for  their 
temporal  wants,  271. 

Pleasantness  of  the  service  of  God, 
ii.  64. 

Postscript  of  the  epistle,  iii.  395. 

Power  of  God,  i.  41. 

Power  of  the  devil,  iii.  345. 

"Precious  stone, "  meaning  of  the 
phrase,  i.  266. 

Present  expectation  and  future  en- 
joyment of  Christians  contrasted, 
i.  74. 

Priesthood,  a  holy,  why  Christians 
are  called,  i.  274. 

Principles,  doctrinal,  in  which  all 
Christians  are  agreed,  ii.  250  ; 
practical,  in  which  all  Christians 
are  agreed,  251. 

Privileges,  peculiar,  of  Christians, 
i.  270;  obtained  by  believing  the 
truth  about  Christ,  281. 


INDEX. 


427 


Profession  of  Christian  liox^e  jjosi- 
tively  enjoined,  ii.  331. 

Provision  made  for  sanctification 
in  the  sacrifice  of  Christ,  i.  152. 

Pure  heart,  a.  Christians  are  re- 
quired to  love  one  another  with, 
i.  168. 

' '  Quick  and  dead, "  meaning  of  the 
phrase,  iii.  51. 

Quotations  from  the  Old  Testa- 
ment, principles  on  which  they 
are  made,  ii.  318,  375. 

References  to  the  Old  Testament 

in  the  epistle,  i.  25. 
Pegeneration,  baptismal,  absurdity 

of,  ii.  515. 
Rejected  by  men,    Christ  was,   i. 

267; 

Relation,  influence  of,  on  character, 
iii.  43 ;  mutual,  of  Christians,  a 
motive  to  brotherly  love,  i.  175. 

Relief  and  United  Secession 
Churches,  union  of,  ii.  135. 

Reproaches  cast  on  Christians,  iii. 
149. 

Resemblance  of  this  epistle  to 
Paul's  epistles,  i.  3. 

Resolution,  a  means  of  Christian 
duty,  i.  119. 

Resxirrection  of  Christ,  the,  con- 
nection of  Christian  hope  with, 
i.  49 ;  evidences  of,  ii.  477 ;  im- 
portance of  knowing  these  evi- 
dences, 479 ;  the  result  of  his 
expiatory  sufferings,  476. 

Revelation,  divine,  comiection  with 
the  atonement,  ii.  415  ;  analogy 
of,  to  the  sun,  ii.  191. 

"Right  hand  of  God,"  meaning  of 
the  phrase,  ii.  485. 

Rulers  in  the  Christian  church, 
duties  of,  iii.  182. 

Sacraments,  efRcacy  of,  doctrine 
of  Westminster  Assembly  re- 
specting, ii.  520. 

Sacriflce  of  Christ,  the  intrinsic 
worth  of,  i.  159 ;  the  subject  of 
divine  axipointment,  160 ;  has 
been  actually  offered,   161 ;  has 


answered  the  purj^ose  for  which 
it  was  intended,  161 ;  motives 
derived  from,  to  the  performance 
of  Christian  duty,  152. 

Salutation  of  the  epistle,  i.  23  ; 
the  practice  of  the  primitive 
churches,  iii.  414,  420. 

Salvation,  the  Christian,  described, 
i.  30. 

Sanctification  obtained  through  the 
sacrifice  of  Christ,  i.  156;  "of 
the  Spirit,"  meaning  of  the 
phrase,  i.  21. 

Sanctify,  the  meaning  of  the  term, 
ii.  322. 

"Saved  by  water,"  meaning  of  the 
phrase,  ii.  509. 

Scriptures,  holy,  fulness  of,  ii.  369. 
See  Holy  Scriptures. 

Servants  of  God,  Christians  are, 
ii.  13 ;  their  duty  to  act  as,  53  ; 
address  to  those  who  are  not,  67. 

Servants,  Christian,  duties  of,  ii. 
140 ;  in  general,  144 ;  of  a  parti- 
cular class,  150 ;  motives  to  the 
discharge  of  the  duties, of,  151 ; 
from  its  being  accej^table  to  God, 
151 ;  from  a  consideration  of 
Christ's  sufferings,  158  ;  who 
suffered,  160  ;  for  us,  161 ;  with 
patience,  163. 

Service  of  God,  the,  is  reasonable, 
ii.  63  ;  pleasant,  64 ;  highly 
honourable,  65 ;  advantageous, 
66. 

' '  Show  forth  God's  praises, "  Chris- 
tians are  called  to,  i.  312.  See 
Called. 

Silvanus,  notice  of,  iii.  406. 

Sobriety,  meaning  of  the  term,  iii. 
71 ;  a  means  of  resisting  the 
devil,  355. 

Sonshij),  divine,  i.  33 ;  descriptive 
of  relation,  34 ;  of  character,  34 ; 
obtained  by  faith,  35. 

"Spirit  of  (Jhrist,"  why  he  is  so 
called,  i.  84. 

"  Spirits  in  prison, "  who  are  meant 
by,  ii.  462. 

"Sjuritual  house,"  meaning  of  the 
phrase  as  applied  to  Christians, 
i.  273. 


428 


INDEX. 


"  Sprinkling  of  tlie  blood  of  Jesus 
Christ, "  i.  22 ;  on  the  conscience, 
ii.  356. 

State  and  character  of  Christians 
described,  i.  18G ;  a  motive  to 
spiritual  growth,  227. 

Stedfastness  in  the  faith,  one 
means  of  resisting  the  devil,  iii. 
360. 

Stewards,  in  what  sense  Christians 
are,  iii.  125. 

"Stone,  living."   See Livhicj Sfoiie. 

Stripes  of  Christ,  what  it  is  to  be 
healed  by,  ii.  185. 

Subjection  due  to  Christian  elders 
as  a  body,  iii.  249 ;  as  individuals, 
252. 

Subtilty  of  the  devil,  iii.  340. 

Sufferings  of  Christ,  their  nature, 
ii.  396 ;  were  penal,  397  ;  vicari- 
ous, 399 ;  expiatory,  403 ;  their 
design,  409 ;  to  bring  men  to  the 
knowledge  of  God,  411 ;  to  favour 
with  God,  424;  to  likeness  to 
God,  437  ;  to  fellowship  with 
God,  443 ;  an  encouragement  to 
Christians  suffering  for  his  cause, 
490 ;  in  what  manner  Christians 
are  partakers  of,  iii.  141. 

Sufferings,  for  Christ,  directory 
imder,  iii.  134;  not  to  be  as- 
tonished at,  135 ;  not  to  be 
depressed  by,  141  ;  not  to  be 
ashamed  of,  154. 

Sufferings  undeserved.  Christians 
need  not  wonder  when  they  meet 
with,  ii.  170 ;  should  be  careful 
that  they  are  undeserved,  171 ; 
should  submit  to,  in  a  meek 
spirit,  173. 

Superintendence,  one  of  the  duties 
of  Christian  elders,  iii.  200. 

"Taste  that  the  Lord  is  gracious," 

meaning  of  the  phrase,  i.  234. 
Temple,  the  spiritual,  Jesus  Christ 

is  the  foundation  of,  i.  257. 
Times,   peculiar  character  of  the, 

iii.  87. 
Trials  of  Cliristians  contrasted  with 

their  results,  i.  70. 


Tribute,  civil,  payment  of,  obliga-         , 
tory  on  Christians,  i.  386. 

Truth  and  integrity,  courtesy  con- 
sistent with,  ii.  284. 

Unbelief,  malignity  and  ill  desert 
of,  i.  347. 

"Undeliled,"  in  what  sense  the 
inheritance  of  Christians  is  said 
to  be,  i.  39. 

Undeserved  sufferings.  See  Suffer- 
ings. 

Union  of  sentiment,  the  duty  of 
Christians,  ii.  248 ;  of  feeling, 
the  duty  of  Christians,  257. 

Vicarious,  the  sufferiiigs  of  Christ 

were,  ii.  399. 
Vigilance,   importance  of,  iii.  80  ; 

one  means  of  resisting  the  devil, 

358. 

' '  War  against  the  soul, "  meaning 
of  the  phrase,  i.  368. 

Warnings  against  malice,  i.  200 ; 
guile,  201 ;  hy|3ocrisy,  202 ;  envy, 
202  ;  evil -speakings,  202. 

' '  Watching  ixnto  prayer, "  meaning 
of  the  phrase,  iii.  77. 

"Weaker  vessel,"  the  woman  is, 
meaning  of  the  expression,  ii. 
229. 

Will  of  God,  the,  is  the  rule  of  his 
own  conduct,  iii.  17 ;  as  made 
known  in  his  word,  is  the  chief 
rule  of  our  conduct,  18. 

Witness  of  the  sufferings  of  Christ, 
Peter  was,  iii.  220. 

Wives,  Christian,  duties  of,  ii.  195 ; 
subjection,  196 ;  chaste  conversa- 
tion coupled  with  fear,  199  ; 
adorning  themselves  with  in- 
ward ornaments,  200 ;  motives 
to  the  performance  of,  208  ; 
probability  of  converting  the 
husband,  208 ;  example  of  holy 
women,  215. 

Younger,  meaning  and  reference 
of  the  term,  iii.  238. 


INDEX. 


429 


II.— GREEK  WORDS  AND  PHRASES  REMARKED  OX. 


' AyoLXXiaffh,  i.  62. 

'  A.ycfjTaivTi,  ii.   114. 

'AyiaZ^a,  ii.  322. 

'Ayia.B'fiu)  •TTviufjt.a.TOi,  i.   21,   27. 

' A2eix.ifjt,o\i  voZv,  iii.  50. 

AXvihuovTi;,  i.    172. 

AXXoTfiicii'7ri(ry.o'^/iS,  lil.   1/6. 
' AfjLa.pavTo;,  \.  40. 
'Af/,ia.VToi,  i.  39. 
' Af/.u/iov,  i.   160. 
' Avayxacr-ajg,  iii.   206. 

AvaxoXou^av,  i.   245. 
' Aiiao-Tfio<pi>i,  i.   117. 

AvSpeoToxTovo;,  iii.   338. 

A)/TiTa,irfflTa.i,  iii.   274. 

'a«(^o?vts,-,  i.  345,  354. 
'a^o,  ii.  70. 

^ ATToXay'ia,  ii.  341. 
AtTiwA-S/a,  i.  76. 
'Apirds,  i.  316. 
'A/JT/Q/lvvjira,  i.  220. 
'Ao-^eveo-ts^Oi;,  ii.  224. 
'Ao'57'/X0I/,   i.    160. 

'AtreoTiav,  iii.  50. 
AvToSiKria,,  i.  276. 
Avro-XTai,  iii.  223. 
Autoj,  iii.  378. 
"AipimpTos,  i.  39. 
"A;^;,;,  ii.  483. 

'Bsfoa.ioTipov,  1.   92. 
Biaia-cti,  iii.  12. 

r«Xa  Xay/xov,  i.  208,  217. 
rviwir/v,  ii.  225. 

A=,  iii.  265,  271. 
A;«,  i.  42 ;  ii.  480. 

Aiecff'Topci,  i.    19. 
AiKciiocrut'/i,  ii.  70. 

''Eyx.'oy.fiojfjLa,  iii.  282. 
'E^av«r«<'>!T£,  ii.  459. 
"^6vo,.  i.  302. 
r.',  i.  145. 

El  biov  iO-TI,   i.   77. 

E'lTtp,  i.  232. 

E/ff-atyaj/}}  615  rnv  oixov/^iv/jv,  11.  488. 


E;;  trarnpiav,  i.  207. 
'EzXsxTa/,  i.  27. 
ExXoy^v,  1.   18. 
'EKouffloj;,  iii.  206. 
'E«Tsv?,  iii.  94. 
'ExTSviyj,  i.   169. 
'EXiuhpoi,  ii.  70. 
'E/cr/Sa  Z,u(ra.v,  i.  47. 
'EXtJTpaiiy,Tl,   i.    155. 

'E^^/.t;;t;«''?,  i-  273,  354. 
'Ev,  i.  42. 

"EvSuitis  luariaiv,  ii.  200. 
"Evvo/a,  iii.  6,  68. 
'Ev  J,  ii.  462. 

'Elouff'ia,  i.  281. 
"E^«^£v,  ii.  160. 
'ETipc/ratr^ai,  ii.  527. 
'Evipurnfio.,  ii.  517,  526. 

'E^;,  ii.  177. 

E'Zixa.Xvf/.fiO,,  ii.  38. 
'E5r/a-xo5rouvT£?,  iii.   187,  207. 
'Etro'^rrpou,  i.  70. 
'Eroif^&iS  i;^i>vTi,  iii.  52. 

Z^Svraj,  i.  273. 
Zao'^oifihi;,  ii.  454,  460. 
Zutrav,  i.  47,  49. 

@ava.r&i6iU,  ii.  454,  459. 
0£«§/§axr«/,  i.  173;  ii.  261 ;  iii.  416. 
&patrv%uXo;,  i.  354. 

'iXaa-TTipiov,  ii.  402. 
"Iva,  i.  51 J  iii.  61. 

K«/,  ii.  380. 
Kax'ta:,  i.  200 ;  ii.  38. 
KaX^v,  i.  362. 
KapTos,  i.  329. 
KaiTa  0£«v,  iii.  2. 
Ka<raXaX(aj,  1.  203. 
KaTJi^yjira;,  11.    /O. 
KXripoi,  iii.  280. 

K«;vi!<jv/«a,   11.    101. 

K.>,/3^,-,  iii.  282. 

Kticti;,  i.   380. 

Aaoj  i'l;  •^ipiTTolriffiv,  1.  304. 


430 


INDEX. 


Aeymhv  X&crjii'iav,  i.  218;  iii.  81. 
MccTxia;,  i.    154. 

Mixu,  iii.  319. 
M'ipi/u,vav,  iii.  319. 
MiTavoiT-ri,  iii.   79. 
M-zTccvoia,  ii.  415. 
M'ixp',  ii.  180. 

'Siocvtirx.oi,  iii.  281. 
'biiunpii,  iii.  181. 
a-^-^ari,  iii.  77. 

'Ofiolai,  iii.  236. 
'Oji/.o(f!povis,  ii.  248. 
"Or/,  iii.  6,  68. 
'0(puXiTi,  iii.  101. 

na^ax«X»v  xa(  i'Trifj.apTvpuv,  i.  4. 
Xlapaav^pai,  1.    101. 
HapiTi^rif^t.oi;,  i.    19,  366. 
XlapoiKou;,  1.   366. 
UxTpo'^xpa.^oTou,  i.   154. 
XliTavrai,  iii.  6,  25. 
UipiTTottn/ris,  i.  76. 
U'irpos,  i.  8. 
n;<r7-/j,  i.  76. 

nv£y^«,  i.  79 ;  ii.  454,  464. 
no;x/x-/)j,  iii.  120. 
na;^av«T£,  iii.  187,  193. 
Uoif^vti,  iii.  280. 
noiov,  i.  90. 

TloXiTiVf^a,  i.   117. 

n;>=<r,S<;r=^.,,  iii.  181,  186,  237. 

Tlpo  -ravrav,  iii.  96. 
TlpoyvciJiri;,  1.   27. 

np(!£^=r«,  i.  161. 

Tlpoirix,X^pci)6ri(ra)i,  iii.  280. 
Upoffx.'o'^roviri,  1.  354. 

'npo(pccinv,  li.  39. 
Tlupaa-is,  iii.  136. 

Sap^s/,  ii.  454. 
'Sapxixas,  ii.  459,  465. 


i^Evj^iTE;,  iii.  369. 

St-jjts,  iii.  401.  »  . 

'S.rpccrivovTai,  l.  368. 
'S.ufji'Tra.Siii,  ii.  249. 
'^ui^'TfpKTliuTipai,  iii.  220. 
2fVTpi;^«vT»v,  iii.  50. 
luiyi-a,  i.   79. 

'S&iT'/ipiav  -^upj^uv,  i.    /6,  79. 
'2u(ppovr,(ra,'ri,  iii.  72. 

Ta  'TraSrtfx.tt.'ra  I'l;  XpiiTTov,  i.  85,  104. 
Ta  'Ta^'/ifza.ra  <rov  'S-piffTov,  1.  86,  104. 
Taor6(voip^5V£5,  ii.  280. 
T=X£/<yj,  i.   127. 
Tiru'Traft.'iva,  ii.   101. 

T/^!7,  i.  271. 

Tl[J.IUTipOV,    i.     /3. 

T/va,  i.  90. 

To  KpifAo.,  iii.  166. 

Tau  «)/a^ou,  ii.  310. 

"Tttxkoti;,  i.   112. 
'Ti^oiuyfiara.,  ii.  357. 
'T'ffoiJt.ovri,  iii.  20,  139. 
't'XOTaffiroi/.itoi,  iii.  274. 
'TiroirroXjj,  i.  76. 

itt.iitpai67i,  iii.  225. 
•t/XaSsXipo/,  ii.  260. 
iiXavSpeo-Triu,  ii.  89. 
<l>;Xoip^ovsj,  ii.  280. 
•^if/,ouv,  i.  394. 

^aiTO;,  i.  329. 

Xa^/;  cra/)«  ©sf,  ii.    152. 
'S^apifff/.a,  iii.   119. 
xdpiros,  iii.  120. 
Xpio-To;,  ii.  382. 

•^j/;^;*!,  i.  79. 

'■fi;,  ii.  514. 

'fis  Xoyit,ofiai,  iii.  408. 


INDEX. 


431 


III.— AUTHOES  QUOTED  OR  REFERRED  TO. 


Acliilles  Tatius,  vol.  i.  page  220. 
Alsliech,  i.  xxix. 
Amesius,  iii.  282. 
Amyraut,  i.  27  ;  iii.  68. 
Anderson,  Ciiristoplier,  ii.  418. 
Aristotle,  i.  233  ;  ii.  84. 
Augustine,  i.  371 ;  ii.  133-5 ;  ii.  187, 
525-6 ;  iii.  22,  69,  158. 

Balmer,  ii.  443,  444,  482. 

Barnes,  i.  4-5. 

Barrington,  Bishop,  iii.  176. 

Barrow,  ii.  90 ;  iii.  306-7. 

Bates,  ii.  83 ;  iii.  169. 

Baxter,  i.  211,  219,  224;  ii.   166, 

213,  226,  344,  368,  458 ;  iii.  206. 
Beausobre,  i.  xxv,  xxvii ;  ii.  526 ; 

iii.  68. 
Beda,  i.  271,  313;  iii.  420. 
Bengel,  i.  xxv,  xxviii,  xxxvi,  xxxvii, 

3,  41,  49,  79,  83,  154,   160,  220, 

255,  272,  366,  368 ;  ii.  152,  225, 

309,  463 ;  iii.  12,  25,  207-8,  213, 

280,  378. 
Benson,  i.  xxxiii,  63. 
Bentley,  ii.  337  ;  iii.  420. 
Bernard,  iii.  215. 
Beza,  i.    xxv,    xxx,  xxxi,    xxxiii, 

27,  275 ;  iii.  68,  236,  419. 
Binney,  ii.  297. 
Bishops'  Bible,  i.  xxix. 
Black,  Dr,  ii.  178. 
Blair,  i.  184. 
Blondell,  iii.  187. 
Bolten,  iii.  281. 
Bowyer,  iii.  176. 
Bullinger,  i.  xxxvii. 
Bungener,  iii.  187. 
Bunyan,  iii.  360. 
Burke,  i.  304. 
Butler,  ii.  346,  352. 
Byfield,  i.  27. 

Cresarius,  ii.  167. 

Calvin,  i.  xxvi,  104,   145,  276;  ii. 

46 ;  iii.  206,  280,  419-20. 
Camerarius,  i.  xxxiii;  ii.  524. 
Camero,  ii.  180. 


Campbell,  i.  16 ;  iii.  218. 
Capellus,  i.  354  ;  ii.  375. 
Carpzov,  i.  xxix,  xxxii;  iii.  183. 
Casaubon,  ii.  165;  iii.  193. 
Castalio,  i.  xxv,  xxvi,  xxxi,  xxxii ; 

iii.  60. 
Chrysostom,  i.  4,  8,  393;  ii.   129, 

376;  iii.  193. 
Cicero,  i.  217. 
Clarius,  i.  63. 
Clemens  Alexandrinus,  ii.  214-15 ; 

iii.  68,  412. 
Clemens  Romanus,  i.  13. 
Clementine  Homilies,  iii.  279. 
Conder,  iii.  420. 
Coverdale,    i.    xxvi,    xxvii,    xxix, 

xxxii,  xxxiii,  xxxvi,  xxxvii. 
Cowi^er,  i.  311,  369;  ii.  3,  33,  86, 

217,  320,  330,  356,  358. 
Cranmer,    i.    xxvii,    xxix,    xxxvi, 

xxxvii ;  ii.  524. 
Culverwell,  ii.  70-1. 
Cyprian,  ii.  101. 

Dassovius,  ii.  523. 

Be  Wette,  i.  6. 

Deylingius,  i.  xxxiv. 

Dick,  ii.  27. 

Douglas,  ii.  43. 

Drusius,  ii.  201  ;  iii.  305. 

Erasmus,  i.  3,  175;  iii.  280. 
Estius,  ii.  165 ;  iii.  281. 
Euripides,  iii.  193. 
Eusebius,  i.  6,  13,  371 ;  ii.  101 ;  iii. 
412. 

Fawcett,  Joseph,  ii.  85-6. 
Felix,  Minucius,  iii.  157. 
Fleetwood,  Bishop,  ii.  143. 
Forster,  iii.  378. 
Frederick  ii.,  iii.  331. 
Fry,  Caroline,  ii.  230. 
Fuller,  iii.  242,  249,  253. 

Gataker,  ii.  238-9. 
Geneva  Version,  i.   xxxii,   xxxiii; 
ii.  524. 


432 


INDEX. 


Gerhard,  i.  271 ;  ii.  19;  iii.  68,  215, 

217. 
Glas,  John,  i.  297. 
Gray,  i.  3-iS ;  ii.  469 ;  iii.  285. 
Green,  iii.  166. 
Griesbacli,  i.  xxviii,  xxxv,  xxxvi, 

xxxvii,  xxxviii;  ii.  514,  526. 
Grotius,  i.  3,  27,  73,  217,  380;  ii. 

461-2,  464;  iii.  280,  282. 

Hailes,  Lord,  iii.  179. 

Hall,  Robert,  i.  361 ;  ii.  86,  87,  256. 

Hammond,    i.    xxvii,    xxix,     xxx, 

xxxvi,  xxxvii. 
Harrington,  i.  385. 
Harwood,  i.  xxvi. 
Heinsius,  iii.  282. 
Hemmingius,  i.  354. 
Hengstenberg,  ii.   322-3;  iii.   317, 

329-31. 
Henry,  Matthew,  i.    171 ;  ii.  293; 

iii.  81. 
Hesselius,  iii.  282. 
Herodian,  i.  xxxi. 
Hesychius,  i.  xxxvi. 
Hieronymus,  iii.  364. 
Hildebertus,  ii.  136. 
Hobbes,  iii.  187. 
Homer,  iii.  193. 
Hooker,  i.  387 ;  ii.  53. 
Horsley,  ii.  525. 
Hottinger,  i.  145. 
Howe,  i.  259,  321 ;  ii.  132-3,  310, 

411 ;  iii.  82-3. 
Hug,  i.  5,  6. 
Hume,  i.  348. 
Huss,  John,  i.  203,  235;  ii.   160; 

iii.  77. 

Isidore  Hispalensis,  iii.  183. 

Jaspis,  i.  xxvii. 

Jay,  ii.  65,  197,  199,  206,  214,  227, 

236,  237. 
Jebb,  iii.  79,  358. 
Jerome,  iii.  187. 
Jortin,  ii.  135,  284. 
Josephus,  ii.  39;  iii.  176. 
Justin,  i.  371. 
Juvenal,  ii.  354. 

Kelly,  ii.  171. 


Kitto,  i.  5,  16. 
Knapp,  i.  84. 
Knatchbull,  i.  xxvi. 
Kiittner,  ii.  459 ;  iii.  281, 
Kypke,  i.  354. 

Lachmann,  i.  xxviii,  xxix,  xxxv, 
xxx^^,  xxxvii,  xxxviii ;  ii.  318, 
514,  526;  iii.  401. 

Lactantius,  i.  13. 

Lange,  ii.  524. 

Lapide,  i.  xxvii,  257. 

Le  Bas,  ii.  418. 

Le  Clerc,  i.  104. 

Leighton,  i.  2,  19,  30,  40,  48,  74, 
91,  93,  125,   132,   135,   144,  149, 

152,  205,  206,  236,  237,  266,  269, 
277,  279,  283,  317,  330,  361,  367, 
369-70,  373;  ii.  18,  73,  85,  137, 

153,  156,  164,  175-6,  198,  202, 
203,  207,  232,  232-4,  235,  254, 
274,  286,  302,  304,  308,  315-16, 
324,  326-7,  347,  348,  361,  363, 
367-8,  430,  459,  468,  470-1,  488, 
489,  494-5,  522-3 ;  iii.  38,  39,  64, 
67,  128,  129,  131,  132,  138,  143, 
144, 148, 199-200,  208,  213,  223-4, 
232,  239,  254,  269,  276,  280,  300, 
304,  316,  338,  355,  374,  390,  417. 

Le  Moyne,  i.  273. 

Luther,  i.  63,  104,  217 ;  ii.  36,  45, 

48,  524;  iii.  69. 
Lyra,  ii.  200;  iii.  420. 

Mackintosh,  i.  ix. 
Maclaurin,  ii.  123,  416-17. 
Maclean,  i.  134. 
Maimonides,  iii.  69. 
Mangey,  iii.  176. 
Martyr,  Justin,  iii.  414. 
Matthrei,  i.  xxxv;  ii.  526. 
Matthews,    i.   xxvi,    xx\di,    xxix, 

xxxii,  xxxiii,  xxxvi. 
Michaelis,  i.  5,  6,  17,  353. 
Middleton,  ii.  526. 
Miles,  Dr  Henry,  i.  x. 
Mill,  i.  xxviii. 

Milton,  ii.  45,  281,  469;  iii.  233. 
Mischna,  ii.  523. 
Mons  Version,  i.  xxix,  xxxiv. 
More,  Hannah,  ii.  292-3. 
More,  Dr  H.,  iii.  46. 


INDEX. 


433 


Moms,  i.  39. 
Morus,  A.,  i.  354. 
Mosheim,  iii.  118. 
Miiller,  iii.  57. 

Neander,  i.  7,  27,  275 ;  ii.  83,  101, 
126,  527 ;  iii.  133,  179,  183,  420. 
Nisbet,  ii.  189;  iii.  157-8. 
Nosselt,  i.  6. 

CEcumenius,    xxxvii,    G3,    380 ;  ii. 

213,  462;  iii.  186,  412. 
Olney  Hjonus,  ii.  93. 
Olshauseu,  ii.  42;  iii.  193. 
Origen,  iii.  412,  414. 
Ovid,  i.  354 ;  iii.  50. 
Owen,   Dr  John,  i.  274,    276;  iii. 

189,  239,  243. 

Paley,  i.  390 ;  ii.  479. 

Pareiis,  i.  62,  63,  75;  iii.  229,  419. 

Pearson,  ii.  391,  394;  iii.  419. 

Peirce,  ii.  149. 

Philo,  iii.  183. 

Plato,  ii.  208. 

Pliny,  iii.  160,  178. 

PolyEenus,  i.  xxxi. 

Polybius,  ii.  249;  iii.  281. 

Pope,  ii.  332. 

Pott,  i.  63 ;  ii.  525. 

Purver,  i.  xxvii. 

Pusey,  iii.  87-8. 

Racine,  ii.  321. 
Raphelius,  i.  xxxi;  ii.  249. 
Ehemists,    i.    xxx,  xxxiii,    xxxvi, 

xxxvii;  ii.  524. 
Robinson,  i.  xxvi,  xxxi,  xxxiv  ;  ii. 

177. 
Rosenmiiller,  i.  145;  ii.  450;  iii.  281. 

Salmeron,  iii.  238. 

Sanderson,  ii.  14,  27,  43-5,  47,  51, 

69,  90. 
Scaliger,  iii.  280. 
Scapula,  i.  xx\dii. 
Schleusner,  i.  xxx\'i. 
Schmid,    E. ,  i.   xxvii,    xxx^■i ;  iii. 

68. 
Scboetgen,  i.  xxxii;ii.  464;  iii.  166. 
tScholz,  i.  xxxvii,  xxxviii ;  ii.  514, 

526. 
Schotanus,  i.  27,  28 ;  iii.  281. 
A^OL.  III. 


Scbott,  i.  6,  14,  17. 

Scliranun,  iii.  72. 

Scott,  i.  212-13;  ii.  311-12. 

Semler,  i.  27 ;  iii.  220. 

Sherlock,  i.  380. 

Simon,  Father,  ii.  165. 

Stanley,  i.  18 ;  iii.  192. 

Steiger,  i.  xxxvii,  5,  18;  iii.  281. 

Stennet,  ii.  144,  228. 

Storr,  i.  26 ;  ii.  454. 

Suicer,  iii.  186,  280. 

Sjrmmachus,  i.  277. 

Symonds,  i.  xx\'iii,  xxxi,  xxxiii. 

Syrus,  P.,  ii.  198. 

Tacitus,  iii.  177. 
Targum,  i.  xxix. 
Taylor,  Jeremy,  ii.    125,    240;  iii. 

242,  277-8. 
Tennyson,  ii.  206. 
Tertullian,  i.  275;  ii.  370,  371,  518; 

iii.  133,  178,  354,  414. 
Theile,  ii.  318. 
Theophylact,  i.  xxxvii,  63. 
Thomson,  Dr  Adam,  ii.  523. 
Tischendorf,  ii.  318. 
Torry,  iii.  420. 
Townley,  ii.  418. 
Tregelles,  ii.  318,  519. 
Trench,  iii.  177-8. 
Tyndale,  ii.  524. 

Usher,  ii.  136. 

Vatablus,  i.  xxv,  63. 
Vater,  xxrx;  iii.  281. 
Vinet,   i.   386;  ii.  339,  342,    347, 

377;  iii.  261. 
Virgil,  i.  354;  iii.  309. 
Vitringa,  iii.  183. 
Voltaire,  i.  348. 
Vulgate,  i.  xxvi,  xx\'ii,  xxix,  xxx, 

xxxii,      xxxiv,      xxxv,      xxx\n, 

63;  ii.  165,  475. 

Wakefield,  i.  xxxi,  xxxii. 
Walker,  John,  ii.  520. 
Warburtou,  i.  384. 
Wardlaw,  i.  173;  ii.  269,  407. 
Watson,  i.  215. 
Watts,  i.  288 ;  ii.  129. 
Wesley,  Charles,  ii.  113. 

2  E 


434 


INDEX. 


Westminster    Confession,   i.     173, 

253;  ii.  110. 
Westminster  Shorter  Catechism,  i. 

253,  315;  ii.  521. 
Wetstein,  i.  xxix,  26 ;  ii.  526 ;  iii. 

166,  419. 
Whately,  i.  386;  ii.  452;  iU.  183. 
Whitaker,  iii.  189. 


Wiclif,  i.  XXX,  xxxi,  xxxiii, 
xxxiv,  xxxvi,  xxxvii;  ii.  418, 
524. 

Winer,  i.  42,  104 ;  ii.  527 ;  iii.  25. 

Wolzogenius,  ii.  525. 

Wynne,  i.  xxxiii. 

Xenophon,  iii.  193. 


IV.— TEXTS  OF  SCRIPTURE  REMARKED  ON. 


Gen.  xviii.  15, 
xxxi.  42, 
Ex.  iv.  22, 
xiii.  19, 
xviii.   11, 
xix.  6, 
Josh.  xiii.  6, 
2  Sam.  i.  26, 

xxiii.  3, 
2  Kings  vi.  15-17, 
Job  xxix.  11-16, 
Ps.  iv.  3, 
viii.  4-6, 
X.  8-10, 
xvi.  3, 
xix.  8, 
XXX.  5, 
xxxiv.  8, 
xxxiv.  19,  20, 
Iv.  22, 
evi.  4,  5, 
cxviii.  22, 
Prov.  iii.  34, 
X.  12, 
xi.  31, 
xxiv.  11,  12, 
xxvii.  8, 
Isa.  viii.  11-13, 
viii.  13, 
viii.  14, 
x.  3, 
xiii.  3, 
xxviii.  16, 
xl.  6,  7, 
liii.  11, 
Uv.  11-14, 
Iviii.  7,  10, 
Ix.  13, 
Jxii.  11, 


vol. 


page  220 

u.  321 

i.  33 

i.  371 

i.  314 

i.    290,  295 

iii.  378 

ii.  261 

ii.  384 

i.  45 

iL  271 

i.  283 

i.  87 

iii.  340 

i.  180 

ii.  450 

iii.  305 

i.  234 

ii.  384 

iii.  310 

i.        311-12 

i.    255,  352 

iii.  272 

iii.  100 

iii.  171 

ii.  270 

ii.  226 

ii.  317 

i.  135 

i.     255,  353 

i.  371 

i.  300 

244,  255,  345 

i.  176 

ii.  388 

i.  263 

ii.  272 

i.  263 

i.  302 


Isa.  Ixvi.  8, 

Jer.  xxii.  6, 

Ezek.  ix.  6, 

Dan.  ix.  2,  3, 

Hosea  ii.  23, 
xi.  11, 
xiv.  2, 

Micah  iv.  1, 

Hab.  iii.  4, 

Mai.  iii.  16, 

Matt.  iv.  4,  7,  10, 
V.  3, 
V.  44-48, 
vii.  6, 
XXV.  34-36, 

Luke  i.  68, 
i.  80, 
iv.  13, 
vi.  36, 
viii.  15, 
X.  21, 
XX.  20, 
xxiii.  4, 

John  L  16,  17, 
iii.  36, 
vi.  35, 
vii.  17, 
vii.  33,  34, 
viii.  39, 
xii.  24,  32, 
xii.  27,  28, 
XV.  8, 
XV.  19, 
xxi.  18,  19, 

Acts  i.  26, 
iii.  21, 
viii.  22, 
xiii.  11, 
XV.  14, 


vol.  i. 


page  334 
388 
166 

90 
336 
326 
277 
263 
317 
304 
351 
460 
229 
342 
272 
372 
460 
483 
265 

20 

460 

201-2 

162 

403 

34 
252 

21 

62 
218 
461 
322 
229 
19,  283 

13 
281 
483 

38 
483 
283 


INDEX. 


435 


Acts  xxviii.  10,     vol 

ii.    page 

231 

2  Cor.  ii.  16, 

vol.  iiL 

page  184 

Rom.  i.  4, 

i. 

49 

vi.  1, 

iii. 

■   398-9 

i.  29, 

iii. 

50 

vi.  14, 

ii. 

210 

ii.  10, 

i. 

74 

vii.  15, 

ii. 

149 

ii.  14,  15, 

ii. 

352 

Gal.  iii.  13, 

ii. 

393 

iii.  25, 

i. 

161 

iii.  13,  14, 

i. 

157 

iii.  25, 

ii. 

402 

iii.  24, 

i. 

104 

iv.  25, 

i.      50, 

162 

iv.  2, 

ii. 

483 

V.  2,                 ii 

.  333 ;  iii. 

401 

V.  5, 

ii. 

333 

V.  5-10, 

i. 

48 

V.  13, 

ii. 

37 

V.  13, 

ii. 

483 

Eph.  i.  3-5, 

L 

18 

vi.  1-14, 

iii. 

39 

i.  4-6, 

i. 

283 

vi.  14, 

i. 

112 

i.  12,  13, 

ii. 

333 

vi.  14, 

iii. 

33 

i.  14, 

i. 

304 

vi.  16,  17, 

i. 

21 

ii.  12, 

i. 

42 

vi.  17, 

i. 

219 

ii.  12, 

ii. 

332 

vi.  20, 

ii. 

70 

ii.  13-17, 

ii. 

465 

vii.  4, 

ii. 

459 

iii.  10, 

i. 

101 

vii.  24, 

L 

77 

iv.  3-16, 

iii. 

125 

viii.  3,  4, 

iii. 

37 

iv.  11,  12, 

iii. 

184 

viii.  5, 

ii. 

249 

iv.  15,  16, 

i. 

172 

viii.  17, 

i. 

36 

iv.  25, 

i. 

230 

viii.  17, 

iii 

319 

iv.  32, 

ii. 

265 

viii.  23-25, 

i. 

75 

V-  1, 

i. 

229 

viii.  28-31, 

iii. 

384 

V.  8, 

i. 

329 

viii.  33, 

i.      52 

285 

V.  25, 

ii. 

194 

xi.  11, 

iii. 

61 

Phil.  i.  1, 

iii. 

188 

xii.  1, 

i. 

217 

i.  9,  11, 

i. 

212 

xii.  3, 

iii. 

73 

ii.  3, 

ii. 

249 

xii.  3-8, 

iii. 

122 

ii.  6-8, 

i. 

234 

xii.  9, 

i. 

168 

ii.  12, 

ii. 

149 

xii.  10, 

ii. 

265 

ii.  12, 

iii. 

127 

xiii.  8, 

iii. 

101 

iL  15, 

i. 

229 

xiii.  8-10, 

i. 

166 

iii.  14, 

i. 

140-1 

xiv.  passim, 

ii. 

31 

iik  15, 

ii. 

253 

xiv.  6, 

ii. 

252 

iii.  20,  21, 

i. 

75-6 

xiv.  13, 

ii. 

48 

iv.  5,  6, 

iii. 

324 

xvi.  13, 

ii. 

292 

iv.  6, 

ii. 

329 

1  Cor.  i.  26-29, 

i. 

14 

Col.  L  24, 

ii. 

172 

iii.  8, 

i. 

150 

i.  24, 

iii. 

142 

iii.  16, 

iii. 

165 

iii.  1-5, 

ii. 

53 

V.  1, 

iii. 

48 

iii.  9, 

i. 

230 

vii.  39, 

ii. 

210 

iii.  12, 

iii 

266 

ix.  7-11, 

iii. 

210 

1  Thess.  L  4, 

i 

285 

ix.  21, 

i. 

112 

i.  5, 

i. 

94 

X.  16, 

i. 

245 

iii.  3, 

iii. 

140 

xii.  12-27, 

iii. 

124 

iv.  14, 

i. 

87 

xii.  28, 

iii. 

185 

V.  8, 

ii. 

333 

xiii.  12, 

i. 

67 

2  Thess.  i.  6, 

i. 

232 

xiv.  20, 

ii. 

38 

ii.  1-3, 

iii. 

84 

XV.  34, 

iii. 

78 

ii.  13, 

i. 

29 

XV.  35, 

i. 

62 

iii.  3, 

iii. 

372 

436 


INDEX. 


1  Tim.  ii.  9, 

vol.  ii. 

page  201 

Heb. 

xi.  6, 

vol.  i. 

page  252 

V.  17, 

ii. 

231 

xi.  7, 

ii. 

149 

Titus  i.  5-7, 

iii. 

186 

xii.  22-24, 

i. 

273-4 

i.  8,   ■ 

iii. 

74 

xiii.  17, 

iii. 

255 

ii.  4, 

ii. 

194 

xiii.  21, 

iii. 

371 

ii.  11,  12, 

iii. 

399 

James  ii.  1, 

iii. 

150 

iii.  2-8, 

ii. 

277 

ii.  17, 

i. 

47 

iii.  7, 

ii. 

333 

2  Pet.  i.  5, 

ii. 

220 

iii.  8, 

i. 

236 

i.  19, 

i. 

92 

Heb.  i.  6, 

ii. 

488 

i.  20, 

i. 

90 

ii.  5-9, 

i. 

88 

1  John  iii.  1, 

iii. 

319 

iii.  6, 

ii.  338 

;  iii 

165 

iii.  9, 

ii. 

12 

iv.  1, 

i. 

134 

iii.  14, 

i. 

181 

V.  8, 

ii. 

397 

iii.  24, 

i. 

68 

vi.  11,  12, 

i. 

131 

iv.  18, 

i.  132;  ii.  138 

X.  5, 

iii. 

371 

3  John  5, 

iii. 

115 

X.  36, 

i. 

139 

Jude  14, 

i. 

87 

X.  39, 

i. 

76 

Rev. 

xi.  5, 

i. 

62 

xi.  3, 

iii. 

371 

xxi.  3, 

i. 

263 

THE  END. 


MLrUKAY  AND  GIBB,  PRINTERS,  EDINBURGH. 


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